A parliamentary inquiry into the UK's maternity services has revealed systemic issues, prompting calls for a comprehensive overhaul. The Birth Trauma Inquiry, led by MPs Theo Clarke and Rosie Duffield, gathered evidence from over 1,300 women who reported experiencing traumatic childbirths, characterized by poor care and a lack of compassion. The inquiry's findings highlight that good maternity care is 'the exception rather than the rule' and suggest that substandard services are often tolerated. Recommendations include establishing a base standard for maternity services across the UK, ensuring universal access to specialist maternal mental health services, and addressing the 'postcode lottery' in perinatal care. Health Minister Maria Caulfield and Health Secretary Victoria Atkins have issued apologies following the report's publication. The report also noted that 1 in 25 mothers experienced traumatic births.
"Women are clearly being treated in a certain way." Labour MP @BellRibeiroAddy says "we do need to do more in terms of our maternal healthcare". #SJUK https://t.co/JWv12AOHzB 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube https://t.co/McaVP3HBWW
“Mothers not being offered a glass of water when they’ve just come out of labour” Conservative MP Theo Clarke discusses the testimonies of The Birth Trauma Inquiry on the latest #BBCNewscast…
"It literally is a postcode lottery." @SophyRidgeSky talks to Labour MP @DawnButlerBrent and radio presenter @NickFerrariLBC about a report which concluded that NHS maternity care is "shockingly poor quality" . #PoliticsHub https://t.co/GlTNastFii 📺 Sky 501 and Virgin 602 https://t.co/H11Kv31woG
"We do need to be demanding serious change, because this is an absolute scandal." @SophyRidgeSky discusses the Birth Trauma Inquiry into maternity care services. #PoliticsHub https://t.co/GlTNastFii 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube https://t.co/TMaIO719Ja
A landmark parliamentary inquiry into traumatic childbirths has called for an overhaul of the UK's maternity services. On the Daily, @MattBarbet speaks to campaigner and mother-of-two @TinukeAwe about her experiences. 🎧 Listen 👉 https://t.co/IJafU5jPf9
🗣️ 'I have plenty of friends who had a very bad experience [with childbirth] and that experience lives with you for life' @CamillaTominey reflects on the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Birth Trauma Listen here ⬇️ https://t.co/5ntJ1ZzSzr https://t.co/jHOcV5EktC
There’s a story today that I really want talk about. The Birth Trauma Inquiry – by a cross party group of MPs – has called for a national plan to improve maternity care, after speaking to 1,300 women and finding “shockingly poor quality” in how we look after women giving birth.…
'You are treating your patients as chunks of meat with a birth canal...letting them lie in their own faeces.' @TomSwarbrick1 reflects on the 'appalling' findings of a birth trauma report, which revealed poor maternity care was 'all-too-frequently tolerated as normal'. https://t.co/F8RFRK3DOO
Health Secretary @VictoriaAtkins has told Sky News there is "much more work to do" to improve the quality of NHS maternity services. Her comments come after a new report concluded that poor maternity care is "frequently tolerated as normal". Read more 🔗 https://t.co/xvjNU5Fyws https://t.co/22zZrk9AWl
'We were surprised about how rife these problems are throughout the country.' Labour MP, Rosie Duffield, discusses a parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma which has found there was "shockingly poor quality" in maternity services. https://t.co/Zgfu8bwiBt
“With discussion of the topic now taking place across the national media, and in parliament, hopefully this silent scandal will now be taken seriously. It’s the least that women, their partners, and their babies, deserve.” 🖊️ @hannahsbee https://t.co/cDXjydz2R8
Health minister @MariaCaulfield has apologised after a new report concluded that poor care in maternity services is "frequently tolerated as normal". Read more 🔗 https://t.co/VPimen7YyV https://t.co/479bkADkZz
Opinion I I welcome the news that the Birth Trauma Inquiry is calling for a national plan to improve maternity care after it heard harrowing evidence from 1,300 women 🖋️ @LaurenMedlicott 🔗 https://t.co/qpOsnEfBlT https://t.co/5vjK3NTTK5
Today's landmark report on birth trauma makes for sobering reading. Pregnant women and mothers are being utterly failed by maternity services where good care is "the exception rather than the rule". Massive thank you to @RosieDuffield1 and @theodoraclarke for leading on this… https://t.co/POPQrp5VZD
A new parliamentary report reveals that thousands of women across the country suffer through traumatic births. 🖊️ @hannahsbee https://t.co/AtVny3qi2S
Health minister apologises as birth trauma report finds 'shockingly poor quality' maternity care https://t.co/HxmKptDgei
NEW column: The finding that good maternity care ‘is the exception rather than the rule,’ will come as no surprise to the millions of women who have given birth in England. Time for a proper national conversation. Brava @theodoraclarke & @RosieDuffield1 https://t.co/gh6m5TtVkH
Thanks to #BirthTraumaInquiry for shining a light on the state of maternity care and the trauma facing too many mothers across the UK. The findings are shocking and the recommendations invaluable. We must work with all MPs to deliver the change we need. https://t.co/jk6EkEQs3r
Good maternity care 'exception rather than the rule' - report https://t.co/PhdXoZ4R5z
The findings of the Inquiry by the APPG on Birth Trauma are deeply worrying. Women are being let down by failing maternity services and a “postcode lottery” for care. The Govt must publish a national maternity improvement strategy, led by a new maternity commissioner.…
Important report out today from the parliamentary Birth Trauma Inquiry, led by @RosieDuffield1 & @theodoraclarke. I wrote this last year on the terrible fact that maternity services are the most unsafe part of the NHS. https://t.co/kfiFzRIxaE
🔴 New mothers are suffering “shockingly poor quality” care in Britain’s maternity services according to a landmark report into birth trauma https://t.co/CHJS0axDGh
BREAKING: A health minister has apologised after a new report concluded that poor care in maternity services is "frequently tolerated as normal" 🔗 Read more https://t.co/7XRMaHMU05
A parliamentary inquiry has called for an overhaul of maternity care after it heard 'harrowing' evidence from more than 1,300 women. https://t.co/twhdEXddmw
A health minister has apologised after a new report concluded that poor care in maternity services is "frequently tolerated as normal" https://t.co/HxmKptDgei
Superb, groundbreaking report into birth trauma with sobering findings and serious recommendations. Huge thanks to the cross-party group of MPs, led by Theo, including @RosieDuffield1 and @BellRibeiroAddy. Labour will work in the same bipartisan spirit to deliver results. https://t.co/lCuV61xxMv
Today Theo Clarke and Rosie Duffield publish their inquiry into birth trauma. Read @hannahsbee on the UK's crisis. https://t.co/eMzyxPNjGO
1/2 Honoured to have given evidence to the 1st parliamentary Birth Trauma Inquiry. Thanks to the APPG, @theodoraclarke @RosieDuffield1 @BirthTrauma for all of their hard work towards this. I look forward to the Government implementing the report's recommendations ASAP.
An inquiry into traumatic childbirths has called for an overhaul of the UK's maternity and postnatal care after hearing "harrowing" stories from parents. https://t.co/jBV8M7tCYb
Huge congrats to @theodoraclarke & @RosieDuffield1 for leading on this much needed inquiry into Birth Trauma. https://t.co/SX737kgVV3
I have presented the Prime Minister @RishiSunak with his copy of our Birth Trauma Inquiry report and I call on the Government to implement our recommendations in full so that all mums get the after care they need in 🇬🇧. #BirthTraumaInquiry https://t.co/wdCYcEgyvE
Today @theodoraclarke & @RosieDuffield1’s landmark review finds good maternity care “is the exception rather than the rule”. New mums are suffering lifelong injuries & trauma; services need an overhaul. I shared my own experience last month: https://t.co/SfTjW3jH4i
Birth trauma inquiry urges maternity care overhaul https://t.co/g2XpmE9tNv
Birth Trauma Inquiry: “report called for a "base standard in maternity services" across UK & an end to the postcode lottery of perinatal care. It said mothers should be given "universal access to specialist maternal mental health services across the UK" https://t.co/2d6LY2RqA8
More than 1,000 women have given harrowing testimony on the state of the UK's maternity services, with many claiming they had suffered from a lack of compassion and a culture of cover-up. A special inquiry heard that a third of mums experienced traumatic births and 1 in 25 were… https://t.co/62yZteqK8i
Today’s publication day! I’m on my way down from #Stafford to Parliament to present a copy of our Birth Trauma Inquiry report in person to the Prime Minister with our recommendations on how to improve maternity care. Thankyou to everyone who gave us evidence 🙏#birthtraumainquiry https://t.co/lPdOyarHol
"An inquiry set up to discover why some women have traumatic experiences in childbirth has called for an overhaul of the UK's maternity and postnatal care." https://t.co/JNrq6IxwKT
Excl: First parliamentary report into birth trauma from @theodoraclarke finds pregnant women and new mothers being failed by maternity services where good care is “the exception rather than the rule”. https://t.co/LhP52bRMS0 A short thread… 🧵
Thankyou to @RoryStewartUK & @campbellclaret for discussing birth trauma on @RestIsPolitics. It means a lot to have this important issue raised by you both. Our Parliamentary inquiry will report tomorrow to the Government with recommendations on how to improve maternity services.
"I know from experience the impact that a traumatic delivery can have for mothers, babies, and families." Recognising the dangers of childbirth could be key to fixing #maternity services, @scarlettmcnally https://t.co/ISyabCwKrz