People can have their say on plans that could mean the closure of birthing centres at Canterbury and Dover.

A three-month consultation looking into options for maternity services in east Kent is being launched today, and people are invited to speak out on their views.

New parents Scott McNamara and his girlfriend Laura Nicholls said taking the service away from the Dover area would have a "huge impact" on accessibility and comfort.

They enjoyed antenatal care at the Dover Birthing Centre before the birth of their baby, Michael, on Saturday and said it would have been the icing on the cake to have given birth there instead of at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

They spent the night at the Midwife Led Unit Dover on Sunday before taking baby Michael home to Dover Road in Deal for the first time.

Assistant head of midwifery Abina Brown said increasing numbers of people having their babies at acute birthing centres at Margate or Ashford mean parents are already "voting with their feet".

She said the PCT and hospital trust’s consultation started as a result of east Kent’s increasing birth rate as well as changes in women’s choices about place of birth.

The 28-page consultation document, plus a 12-page summary version and online feedback form will be available from noon today on the NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent website.