Have you ever seen a man with flu? Imagine one with morning sickness! (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Have you ever seen a man with flu? Imagine one with morning sickness!

9:28am Saturday 3rd February 2007

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On spotting a vulnerable, first time mum-to-be there is nothing us 'been there, seen it, got the blood-stained t-shirt' mums like to do better than terrify the life out of them by offering up gory tales of childbirth.

Either that or you can make them feel guilty if they are even thinking about a hint of pain relief by boasting about how you got through a 48-hour labour with nothing more than a cup of tea and a square of chocolate (no - that isn't me by the way).

The truth is no woman's experience of childbirth is the same - I've only done it twice and they were quite different experiences although with the same happy outcome - a healthy baby that made all the pain worthwhile.

The people that can make the biggest difference to the whole experience are midwives and I was lucky to have the same community midwife during both pregnancies who was marvellous.

It was a bit of a different tale at the cutting edge of things in the hard-pressed maternity unit. The midwives there were clearly over-stretched, dealing with more than 20 births in one day and a few more hands on deck wouldn't have gone amiss.

That was two years ago and it seems maternity services across the country are continuing to suffer from under-staffing and under-funding.

I recently spoke to a student midwife from Bradford who is due to qualify in March, one of a group of ten on a course at Huddersfield University.

At the last count none of them had secured a job due to recruitment freezes and the Royal College of Midwives is working hard to raise awareness of the situation, which also applies to student nurses.

I've read some horrific tales in the national press about some women's experiences of childbirth, including one woman who suffered post-traumatic stress because of her treatment.

Giving birth is rarely a walk in the park and one-to-one care from a dedicated midwife is essential in ensuring a happy outcome for mum and baby.

Many midwives are coming up for retirement - where are their replacements going to come from if students remain unemployed until health trusts decided they finally have the money to give them a job?

Their skills will be lost and women and babies across the country will suffer.

I suspect if it was men who gave birth it would be a different story.

Not only would maternity leave kick off as soon as the baby reached baked bean size (have you ever seen a man with 'flu - well, just imagine one with never ending morning sickness) but each delivery room would be well staffed and equipped with 24-hour Sky Sports and the latest computer games to while away the epidural-filled hours.

Just joking fellas - women would never allow you to take away the most amazing gift given to us - the opportunity to bring a new life into the world.

All we ask is for maternity services to be properly funded and staffed so childbirth can be a positive experience for as many women as possible.