A Northern Southland midwife says she's cautiously optimistic after high-level discussions this week pointed to having on-call midwifery services re-instated at Lumsden's maternity hub.

Stakeholders ranging from the Southern District Health Board, Ministry of Health, New Zealand College of Midwives and others met in Gore on Thursday night (July 11) to discuss options around midwifery services in the Northern Southland region.

The area's maternity centre in Lumsden was controversially downgraded by the Southern DHB in April. 

The downgrade eliminated birthing services, post-natal stays, and an on-call midwife who supported the area's two lead midwives. 

Local midwives have repeatedly said having an on-call midwife based in Lumsden is essential given the centre's isolated location and the large geographical area that Northern Southland's two lead midwives have to cover at any moment.

A DHB media release says the stakeholder group on Thursday night discussed including back up and locum midwifery support for the area.

Most attendees Advocate South spoke to were reluctant to provide further details. 

However, Fiordland midwife Nicky Pealing said she was "pretty pleased" there was agreement on the need for an on-call midwife available to provide a safe service in the area.

She said the short-term solution was an on-call midwife stationed at the Lumsden centre's own midwife apartment. 

In the long-term, there would be a third lead midwife for the area.

Details on all these solutions were still to be figured out, including pay, and she said she was cautiously optimistic about these proposals coming to fruition. 

Mrs Pealing said there would be another meeting in a few weeks' time.

"There's still a lot of talk to do."