Politically unpopular and “very difficult” decisions are required to tackle rising maternal death rates and improve safety, a leading academic has warned.
Marian Knight, who investigates maternal deaths for the MBRRACE-UK programme, said a lack of capacity for C-sections was a “patient safety issue we need to be actively managing”.
She said the NHS had to think about “consolidation into fewer, bigger [maternity] units” to better manage C-sections, which currently account for around half of births in England.
Professor Knight’s comments follow the publication of the programme’s most recent report into maternal mortality last week.
It found that women who died between 2022 and 2024 had faced delays and postponements of scheduled C-sections, with assessors warning that limited availability of operating theatres and appropriately skilled surgeons may have worsened their outcomes.
The report said that “it was not clear if the safety of services is maintained in light of [the] increased demand [for C-sections].”
It therefore recommended that the Department of Health and Social Care review theatre and workforce capacity planning guidance to manage the additional workload.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 15 September 2026
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment