An inquiry into traumatic childbirths has called for an overhaul of the UK’s maternity and postnatal care after finding poor care is “all-too-frequently tolerated as normal”.
The Birth Trauma Inquiry heard harrowing evidence from more than 1,300 women – some said they were left in blood-soaked sheets while others said their children had suffered life-changing injuries due to medical negligence.
Women complained they were not listened to when they felt something was wrong, were mocked or shouted at and denied basic needs such as pain relief.
A new maternity commissioner who would report directly to the prime minister is a key recommendation in the inquiry’s report, along with ensuring safe levels of staffing.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said she was determined to improve the quality and consistency of care for women.
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said the experiences outlined in the report “are simply not good enough”.
It is estimated that 30,000 women a year, in the UK alone, have suffered negative experiences during the delivery of their babies. One-in-20 develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The findings of the first UK inquiry into birth trauma will be presented to ministers on Monday, before Ms Atkins is expected to set out the government’s response.
The inquiry’s authors call for a maternity system “where poor care is the exception rather than the rule”.
Parents gave the inquiry accounts of stillbirth, premature babies and babies with cerebral palsy caused by oxygen deprivation – in many cases trauma caused by mistakes and failures, often covered up, before and during labour.
Other devastating accounts came from women who experienced birth injuries, causing a chronic pain and bowel incontinence, stopping many of them working and “destroying their sense of self-worth”.
Women from marginalised groups, particularly ethnic minority groups, appeared to experience particularly poor care, with some reporting direct and indirect racism, the inquiry highlighted.
