Yvette Cooper: ‘Women should not feel pressured to have an ideal birth’

National maternity standards are set to be reintroduced under plans to improve maternity care, Health Secretary Yvette Cooper has said.

The standards will be measured by patient experience and will incorporate an early warning system to signal underperformance.

The announcement follows a review into maternity care, led by Baroness Valerie Amos, which concluded families have suffered from repeated failures in NHS care.

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Source: Independent, 5 August 2026