Maternity services across Hertfordshire are set to be reviewed to allow women to choose where they have their babies.

Watford General Hospital has both a midwife-led birth unit and a consultant-led service, which are used by one third of Hertsmere residents.The county's Primary Care Trusts will begin a review in May which will interview doctors, midwives and parents to assess the current provisions and whether more women could give birth outside hospital.The review will be led by Allan Templeton, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Aberdeen, and Angela Canning, head of Midwifery Services at Princess Royal Hospital in Bromley.Anne Walker, chief executive of Hertfordshire PCTs, said: "Our priority is to make sure that the NHS in Hertfordshire provides safe and sustainable care for the majority of mums who will have a normal birth and for those who may need the more specialist support that is available from consultants at an acute site."This review will give us a detailed view of how we should move forward with maternity provision outside of hospital. What may be the best for one area may not be the right solution for another."The findings of the review will be published in September.