Good pregnancy care for women in the UK “is the exception rather than the rule”, a landmark inquiry has found.
The report was led by Conservative MP Theo Clarke, who thought he would die giving birth to his daughter in 2022.
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A health minister has since apologized after the new report claimed that inadequate care in maternity services is “often tolerated as normal”.
The report detailed some harrowing stories of mothers who were left lying in their own blood and urine or had concerns about their baby’s health ignored, which in some cases resulted in death.
According to The timesthe inquiry found there was “shockingly low quality” of maternity services in the UK.
Theo said there is an unacceptable “postcode lottery in maternity services”.
“We listened carefully to mothers and applauded their bravery in speaking out, sometimes with horrific testimonies of how the system failed them and the mental, physical and economic cost of that failure,” the deputy told the newspaper.
“The series of recommendations we make, particularly the appointment of a maternity commissioner, aims to end the postcode lottery in maternity services.”
She told the BBC Radio 4’s Today Program: “Depending on where you live, you will literally be offered a different level of care in terms of how you receive support during labor and beyond.”
Describing her own experience, she added: “I remember pressing the emergency button after I came out of surgery, and a lady came in and said she couldn’t help me, she said it wasn’t her baby, it wasn’t her. problem, and she went out and left me there – so we need to make sure there are safe staffing levels.”
‘It’s just not good enough’
Women’s health minister Maria Caulfield acknowledged on Monday that ministers had long been wrong in their approach to maternity services.
“Absolutely,” Maria said when asked if there was an apology to be made.
“I recognize as women’s health minister that maternity services have not been where we want them to be,” she said Sky News.
She said the government was already doing much of the work recommended by Theo Clarke’s birth trauma report.
“It’s not just about birth and beyond, that’s probably where we’ve been going wrong for so long. This has been happening to women for decades,” she told Times Radio.
“It’s about taking care of women before they give birth.”
Ms Caulfield also told LBC: “If we really look at neonatal deaths and stillbirth deaths, they are falling by around 20 to 30 per cent, so the measures we are putting in place are working.
“We know, for example, that Covid has had a significant impact on pregnant mothers and worse outcomes for babies.
“Our numbers are better than the Labour-run health service in Wales, for example, and they are not implementing any of these measures.”
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said the experiences of more than 1,300 women who gave evidence to the inquiry were “simply not good enough”.
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Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said she was “determined to improve the quality and consistency of care provided to women during pregnancy, birth and the critical months that follow”.
In January, she shared her personal experience of the “darkest corners” of the NHS after giving birth as a type 1 diabetes patient.
“I want to reform our NHS and care system to make it faster, simpler and fairer for all of us, including women,” she said.
The report calls for a new maternity commissioner who will report to the prime minister.
Every year, around 30,000 women have a negative experience before, during or after giving birth.
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