Only those living in certain areas including Kensington, Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham will be able to refer themselves directly.
Imperial College Healthcare Trust is also no longer accepting any late self-referrals for care to be transferred from other maternity units.
This is women who are 30 weeks pregnant or more.
Parents to be can choose where they have their baby and maternity units at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea are rated outstanding.
Birth rates across London are falling but bosses say they expect to have delivered over 700 more babies than planned by the end of the year.
They say they simply don’t have the space or staffing to continue this way and say the decision to limit referrals was a difficult one.
Susan Barry, Director of midwifery at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “We’re really proud of our maternity units, both rated as outstanding by the CQC, and want as many women as possible to be able to choose to have their babies with us. Restricting self-referrals to our local populations has been a very difficult decision to make but it has become essential due to unprecedented demand over the past year or so.
“By the end of 2024/25, we expect to have delivered over 700 more babies than planned, and nearly 400 more than actually delivered in 2023/24, with an increasing number of mothers travelling from far afield for our care. We simply do not have the space or staffing to continue to manage increased demand at this level without
significantly impacting quality, our ability to provide much needed care for women with complex pregnancies or births and the wellbeing of our staff. We are working closely with our NHS partners to make sure everyone impacted is supported to find other options that meet their needs.”
