Birth trauma inquiry calling for maternity commissioner

Parliamentary report is due to be published on Monday.

Birth trauma inquiry (PA Wire)

A parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma is calling for a national plan to improve maternity care.

The all-party inquiry, led by Conservative MP Theo Clarke and Labour MP Rosie Duffield, is due to publish its findings on Monday.

According to The Times, the report found “poor care is all frequently tolerated as normal, and women are treated as an inconvenience”.

Among the recommendations included in the report is the creation of a maternity commissioner reporting to the Prime Minister.

Ms Clarke, who pushed for the inquiry after revealing in Parliament that she felt she was going to die after giving birth in 2022, told The Times: “We have listened to mums carefully and applaud their bravery in coming forward, sometimes with horrific testimony of how the system failed them and the mental, physical and economic cost of that failure.

“The raft of recommendations we make, especially the appointment of a maternity commissioner, are all designed to end the postcode lottery on maternity services.”

NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said the experiences of more than 1,300 women who have evidence to the inquiry were “simply not good enough”.

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”.

In January, she shared her personal experience of the “darker corners” of the NHS after giving birth as a patient with type one diabetes.

“I want to reform our NHS and care system to make it faster, simpler and fairer for all of us and that includes women,” she said.