The trust said it began planning for a potential temporary suspension to services in July due to serious staffing issues.
At the beginning of August, it said it had explored every option including securing locum cover and mutual aid support from partner organisations and concluded a temporary suspension was the best solution.
A provisional reopening date was initially set for 29 September, however, bosses later said the service was not in a position to reopen then.
Consultants have since said they have “no confidence” in the ability of the executive board overseeing the hospital to ensure equitable, safe and sustainable local access to healthcare.
The chief executive of Devon Antenatal Family Centre said she had noticed a rise in affected mothers opting for elected Caesarean sections to “reduce and minimise the risk of fast labours on the road” and the “unexpected coming to reality”.
“Women are worried so they’re opting for a higher risk birth of having a Caesarean within a low risk pregnancy,” Mchomvu said.
“Nobody is asking for an unsafe service to be reopened, that is not what anybody wants.
“What we want is for the service to be reopened, but we want it reopened sustainably and for long term. We need to have a safe reliable service women can depend on when they need it regardless of when that might be.”
In its latest update, external the hospital trust said it knew the continued suspension was “causing worry and uncertainty”.