Health minister apologises as birth trauma report finds 'shockingly poor quality' maternity care

A health minister has apologised after a new report concluded that poor care in maternity services is “frequently tolerated as normal”.

The parliamentary inquiry found there was “shockingly poor quality” in maternity services, which resulted in care that lacked compassion and a system where “poor care is all too frequently tolerated as normal”.

Led by Conservative MP Theo Clarke and Labour MP Rosie Duffield, the Birth Trauma Inquiry considered evidence given by more than 1,300 women and has called for a national plan to improve maternity care.

It found that poor quality postnatal care was an “almost-universal theme”.

“Women shared stories of being left in blood-stained sheets or of ringing the bell for help but no one coming,” the report said.

It has made 12 recommendations, including that the government implement a maternity commissioner who would report directly to the prime minister.

A long-lasting problem

Health minister Maria Caulfield told Sky News maternity services had not been where they should be and apologised to mothers who had been affected.

“I recognise that maternity services have not been where we want them to be, but there is lots of work happening in this space,” Ms Caulfield said.

“This has been a problem for a long time, and it is why maternity is a priority area in the women’s health strategy.”

She said the inquiry aims to get expectant mothers better care during their pregnancy, rather than wait until they are just about to give birth.

Some £1.1bn – more than a third of the NHS’ total maternity and neonatal budget – was spent on cash payments relating to clinical negligence in 2022/23, a Department of Health and Social Care report showed.

Recommendations made by the Birth Trauma Inquiry

The Birth Trauma Inquiry aims to look at the realities of giving birth and how the UK can practically improve maternity services.

One of the key conclusions of the report is to implement a National Maternity Improvement Strategy, led by a maternity commissioner, who will report directly to the prime minister.

This improvement strategy will outline the following 12 recommendations with the aim of introducing a base standard in maternity services across the UK:

1. Recruit, train and retain more midwives, obstetricians and anaesthetists and provide mandatory training on trauma-informed care.

2. Provide universal access to specialist maternal mental health services across the UK to end
the “postcode lottery”.

3. Offer a separate six-week check post-delivery with a GP for all mothers, which includes questions about the mother’s physical and mental health.

4. Roll out and implement the OASI (obstetric and anal sphincter injury) care bundle to all hospital trusts to reduce risk of injuries in childbirth.

5. Oversee the national rollout of standardised post-birth services to give all mothers a safe space to speak about their experiences in childbirth.

6. Ensure better education for women on birth choices. All NHS trusts should offer antenatal
classes.

7. Respect mothers’ choices about giving birth and access to pain relief and keep mothers
together with their baby as much as possible.

8. Provide support for fathers and ensure nominated birth partner is continuously informed
and updated during labour and post-delivery.

9. Provide better continuity of care and digitise mother’s health records to improve
communication between primary and secondary health care pathways.

10. Extend the time limit for medical negligence litigation relating to childbirth from three years
to five years.

11. Commit to tackling inequalities in maternity care among ethnic minorities, particularly black
and Asian women.

12. NIHR to commission research on the economic impact of birth trauma and injuries,
including factors such as women delaying returning to work.

Other recommendations put forward by the Birth Trauma Inquiry include retraining and recruiting more midwives, offering a separate six-week check post-delivery with a GP for all mothers, provide support for fathers or nominated birth partners and better educate women on birth choices.

It also recommends extending the time limit for medical negligence litigation relating to childbirth from three years
to five years.

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said she was “determined to improve the quality and consistency of care for women throughout pregnancy, birth and the critical months that follow”.

Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, called the report “groundbreaking” and said the Labour Party would work in the same bipartisan spirit to deliver results.

‘A lot more work to be done’

After her own experience of a traumatic birth, Sandra Igwe set up The Motherhood Group and has spent the past eight years campaigning. When she gave birth earlier this year for the third time, she expected the outcome would be different.

“Sadly, the third time around, again, my concerns were dismissed and I was made to wait several days to give birth after being induced, and that added to my anxiety,” she told Sky News correspondent Shamaan Freeman-Powell.

“It has shown me there is a lot more work to be done.”

She is now working with Councillor Evelyn Akoto, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at Southwark Council, to get the experiences of women from diverse backgrounds in a maternity commission.

Cllr Akoto, who also had her own experience of being dismissed and ignored during labour, said the statistics black and ethnic minority women face are “horrifying”.

“I see myself and other black women as walking statistics,” she said. “I see our lives in danger all the time.”

The councillor said that in order for the quality of care to be improved across maternity services, inequalities need to be addressed.

“If we get it right for those who are being negatively impacted, we get it right for everyone,” she added. “So it’s important we all come together and resolve this.”