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Found 116 results
  1. News Article
    A quarter of all babies in England are now delivered by emergency caesarean operations, BBC analysis shows - marking a significant rise over the last five years. The unplanned surgeries have increased by eight percentage points, while the rate of elective caesareans has also increased. At the same time, the rate of vaginal births without instruments has fallen - from more than half of all deliveries to 43%. Prof Marian Knight, director of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, which researches the care of women and babies in pregnancy and birth, says the rise represents a "total change in how women give birth" in England, and that it has not been replicated in other European countries. The NHS does not publish data on why an emergency C-section is performed, and experts say there is no single, clear explanation for the increase. However, some have told the BBC they are concerned a culture of fear in maternity units and among pregnant women is driving up the number of procedures. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which represents maternity doctors, says pressure on staff and operating theatres means the system is "really struggling" to meet the increased demand. NHS England says "decisions are made by considering individual circumstances and clinical advice to ensure the safest and most appropriate approach for each birth". Read full story Source: BBC News, 5 June 2026
  2. News Article
    Stress from racism and deprivation could explain why black women are more likely to die during childbirth, a study has found. Researchers reviewed 44 existing studies that examined three physiological pathways associated with worse pregnancy outcomes: oxidative stress, inflammation, and uteroplacental vascular resistance, and found black women had higher levels of the three metrics. Such physiological differences are not the result of genetic differences, according to the researchers, but rather suggest that socioenvironmental stressors such as systemic racism and deprivation, which are known to have a measurable biological effect, may influence the body’s ability to function healthily during pregnancy. Grace Amedor, of the University of Cambridge, the first author of the peer-reviewed study published in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, said: “Pregnancy and childbirth put great stress on a woman’s body. Black women may experience additional strain due to factors including systemic racism, socioeconomic disadvantage and environmental stressors. “During pregnancy, this strain may affect key biological processes in ways that increase the risk of conditions such as pre-eclampsia. I was surprised that although this disparity had been known for a long time, there was little research into the potential underlying physiological reasons. “It’s important that we don’t stop trying to tackle the root causes that lead to worse pregnancy outcomes in black women, which are the socioeconomic disparities and the systemic racism they can experience throughout their lives.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 29 April 2026
  3. News Article
    NHS England is considering allowing midwives to “withdraw” services from women deemed to be giving birth at home against professional advice, HSJ has learned. The Royal College of Midwives has warned that if this advice is introduced, it risks “push[ing] women towards giving birth entirely alone, [presenting] far greater risk to mother and baby”. The disagreement comes as NHS services urgently seek clarity from system leaders on how they should best support home births and some high-risk pregnancies. However, the advice would also cover how services should respond to other care and treatment requests that are considered “highly unsafe or unreasonable”. NHS England’s discussions about the potential new advice were revealed in a letter responding to a coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths report. The letter is dated 24 December, but it was only published last month, and HSJ understands a definitive decision about the advice has not yet been made. The letter said: “We will build on work already started, looking to clarify whether NHS health professionals providing maternity services may withdraw midwifery services from women birthing at home against professional advice and/or from women making requests with regards to care/treatment that are considered highly unsafe or unreasonable.” It added: “In developing [better home birth resources], NHSE and its partners will consider the ethical responsibility and proportionality of offering women an NHS home birth, while taking into account that women have a legal right to choose what healthcare they receive. “In addition, some women who cannot be supported to birth at home due to the level of risk may choose to give birth unassisted, which carries a higher risk.” The report prompted chief midwifery officer Kate Brintworth to order all trusts to “urgently” review the safety of home birth services in November. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 28 April 2026
  4. News Article
    Joanna was a model prisoner who followed the rules. She had been convicted for a non-violent drugs offence and was not deemed to be at high risk of escape, particularly not in the throes of an agonising labour. She hoped to use hypnobirthing, breathing and relaxation techniques to make the birth calmer and more comfortable. Thanks to information provided by the charity Birth Companions she knew it was her right not to be handcuffed during labour. She had highlighted the handcuffing points in the booklet. When Joanna went into labour on 30 December 2022, she was taken to hospital, handcuffed and chained to a prison officer. She remained so for the 36 hours of a long, difficult birth. Any thoughts of hypnobirthing went out of the window. “I was crying so much that my nose was too blocked to use any of the breathing techniques,” Joanna says. “I’m the kind of person who is good at researching my rights. So many people had told me during my pregnancy that I wouldn’t have to give birth in handcuffs. I was taken to hospital chained to an officer with handcuffs but assumed they would be removed at the entrance to the hospital. “I was so shocked when the cuffs weren’t removed. When I told the prison guards who had brought me to hospital about what the Birth Companions booklet said, they replied: ‘We don’t know what that book is, we’re not going to abide by it.’ I felt so scared. It was my first baby, I didn’t know what to expect from birth and I wasn’t a risk to anyone.” Joanna gave an anonymous interview to Channel 4 News in 2025 about her ordeal. The prisons minister, Lord Timpson, subsequently announced last June that an independent investigation would be commissioned and carried out by the prisons and probation ombudsman (PPO) into the practice in England of handcuffing pregnant prisoners during antenatal appointments, intimate examinations and labour. Timpson said reports of pregnant women being handcuffed during labour were “deeply concerning”. However, information on the number of prisoners handcuffed during labour and birth is not routinely collected by officials. The Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have called for an investigation into the use of restraints on pregnant prisoners. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 March 2026
  5. News Article
    A newborn baby died after hospital staff failed to wake his mother for "potentially lifesaving observations" before his birth, an investigation has found. Sonny Taylor was left "distressed for a significant amount of time" before a delayed emergency Caesarean at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, and died three days later from a severe brain injury caused by sepsis and lack of oxygen. His parents Eve and Thomas said he was "badly let down when he needed help the most". Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board accepted the report's findings and apologised "unreservedly" for the failures in care. Sonny's mother, Eve, 29, had been admitted to hospital after her waters broke at 36 weeks. Later that afternoon she was taken to the maternity ward after signs of potential infection were identified. At 18:00 GMT, her observations and Sonny's heart rate were recorded as normal. While Eve was asleep at 22:00, midwifery staff did not wake her to carry out further observations or listen to Sonny's heart rate, despite this being required, an internal investigation report found. "When I awoke Sonny was not moving as much and I immediately knew something wasn't right," she said. A registrar confirmed the foetal heart rate was abnormal, but Eve was wrongly transferred to the labour ward, causing further delay before Sonny was delivered by emergency Caesarean at 02:03. Tests later showed Sonny "had been distressed for a significant amount of time" and should have been delivered earlier, the report said. Investigators said that if Sonny's heart rate had been identified as abnormal earlier, "this would likely have changed the outcome". Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 January 2026
  6. News Article
    The death of a baby girl has prompted a warning over the use of doulas during births after one had "negatively impacted" midwives. Henry Charles, assistant coroner for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton, issued a prevention of future deaths report after an inquest last month into the death of Matilda Pomfret-Thomas. Her parents had chosen to hire a doula as part of plans for a home birth, having previously experienced a traumatic hospital delivery with their first child. Doulas are non-medical support workers who are not regulated, and are employed by some families to provide emotional and practical help during pregnancy and labour. Their role remains controversial, with supporters saying doulas offer valuable support to women, while critics - including some medical professionals - warn they may increase risks for mothers and babies. In this case, Matilda died on 13 November 2023 at 15 days old after suffering neonatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), a form of brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen before or during birth. Mr Charles said Matilda developed HIE over a period of hours during labour at home and the presence of the doula did "negatively impact" midwives being able to provide advice to the mother and usual care. He said meconium - a baby's first bowel movement that can indicate distress - had been detected. Midwives attending the home birth also noted decelerations, which are drops in the baby's heart rate. Read full story Source: Sky News, 21 January 2026
  7. Content Article
    In 2023, Jennifer Cahill was pregnant with her second child. Her antenatal care was managed by Manchester Foundation Trust (“MFT”) community midwives. In 2021 her first pregnancy had resulted in complications at the time of delivery. She had a Post Partum Haemorrhage for which she received an iron and also a blood transfusion. She was also positive for Group B Streptococcal. On the 26 June 2024 an investigation into the deaths of Jennifer and Agnes Cahill was carried out. The Inquests concluded on the 27 October 2025. The conclusion of the Inquests was: Jennifer Rose Cahill died as a result of complications arising from the delivery of her second child, contributed to by neglect. Agnes Lily Wren Cahill died as a result of complications during birth, such complications contributed to by neglect. The medical causes of death were recorded as:  Jen: 1a) Multiorgan failure with disseminated intravascular coagulation 1b) Cardiac arrest due to post-partum haemorrhage 1c) Perineal tear and atony during term delivery. Agnes: 1a Multi-organ insult following hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy 1b. Cord compression and meconium aspiration syndrome leading to pulmonary hypertension. Key findings Jen had not made an informed decision to have a home birth and if the out of guidance plan had been completed and all the relevant information provided to her, it is more likely than not she would have given birth in an alternative setting and both Jen and Agnes would have survived. If the fetal heart rate monitoring had been conducted correctly and every 5 minutes, it was more likely than not an abnormal fetal heart rate would have been noted up to an hour before Agnes was born and an urgent transfer to hospital would have occurred. The coroner found emergency services would have been on scene when Agnes was born and effective resuscitation would have been administered which would likely have prolonged her life. Had this call been made it is more likely than not Jen would have survived as the after care delivered to her would have noted a perineal tear and administered syntemetrine immediately. The coroner heard evidence that since the deaths, MFT have completely overhauled the home birth service provision. The new service became operational in April 2025. In the six month period within the MFT area of GM they have received requests from 34 women for out of guidance home deliveries. Five of these could not be supported due to safety issues. Of the 29 out of guidance home births, 15 (50%) required transfer to hospital for varying degrees of obstetric emergency. Matter of concerns There is no national guidance in respect of home births. Specifically, robust evidenced based guidance on home birth care, similar to that which is in place for intrapartum care in a hospital setting. There is an increase in the number of women with ‘high risk pregnancies’ requesting home births where required interventions cannot take place or would be significantly delayed and there is no robust framework for midwives supporting home birth care. There is no national guidance to support consistent practice across the country including, for example, details of clinical scenarios where women, following robust assessment, have been considered too high risk to safely receive care in a home-setting. The lack of national guidance means there are differing models of care and unlike other specialities home births are not a specialist commissioned service. There is no national guidance considering the ethical responsibility and proportionality of offering a home birth model under the NHS framework. Even though there is a very small risk of death, this is not something which is discussed with women particularly in relation to maternal death, even if the woman has a recognised risk such as a post-partum haemorrhage. There is no guidance to ensure the risk of death to both mother and baby is discussed with any woman considering a home birth irrespective of being considered high or low risk. NICE guidance on intrapartum care (2023 updated June 2025) Section 1.3.3 only refers to the potential risk of death to a baby. There is no mention in the guidance of risk to the mother. Terminology around pregnancies describes them as ‘high’ or ‘low risk pregnancy’ and leads women to consider that pregnancy encompasses all stages through to delivery of a child. Practice does not personalise or individualise risk so women can fully understand what the level of risk is for them in actually being pregnant, or what the level of risk is for them in giving birth. In order to maintain their skills, there is no set number of deliveries a community midwife must conduct following qualification. There is no mandated number of deliveries that any midwife (irrespective of the settings in which they are working) must complete once they have qualified as a midwife in order to maintain their registration. The level of experience of community midwives in conducting deliveries is not information routinely provided to women to inform their decision whether to have a homebirth. No bespoke training needs analysis has been conducted focusing on midwives practicing in home birth teams. The lack of national data collection means there is no data to evidence the number of women who are transferred in during labour or after birth, maternal or neonatal outcomes, number of women who are considered out of guidance. The no national guidance on the model of staffing, training and experience for midwives providing home birth care. See also: NHS England's letter responding the Prevention of Future Deaths report.
  8. News Article
    Staffing shortages and a "culture of mistrust" led to delays and patients being harmed at one of the busiest maternity units in the UK, a review has found. An inspection of maternity care at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh said some women waiting for labour to be induced had experienced delays of more than 24 hours. It also said staff were reluctant to submit safety reports and had raised concerns about being overwhelmed and unsupported. The damning findings echo those of NHS Lothian's own review into the troubled maternity unit last year - but the health board insisted it was making progress in improving and investing in its women's services. The review of Edinburgh's maternity unit follows a BBC Disclosure investigation which heard calls for urgent action to improve maternity safety across Scotland. The investigation heard from a number of families who had experienced poor and sometimes deadly care. It concluded that mothers and newborn babies had come to harm because of staffing shortages and a "toxic" workplace culture. Health Secretary Neil Gray said the Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) report was "deeply, deeply concerning". Gray, who said he had experienced loss in his own family, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland he had directed NHS Lothian to deliver its recommendations "immediately". Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 October 2025
  9. News Article
    "Reasonable precautions" could have prevented the deaths of three newborn babies, a fatal accident inquiry has found. Leo Lamont, Ellie McCormick and Mira-Belle Bosch all died within hours of their births in two Lanarkshire hospitals, in 2019 and 2021. The report found all three deaths could "realistically" have been avoided had different advice been given by midwives or procedures followed. The McCormick family said they could "never have imagined" the amount of failures that led to their daughter's death and called it a "catalogue of errors". The inquiry ruled "defects" within the system contributed to each death, including that there was a "lack of an effective means" to highlight risks in one of the pregnancies and that midwives had no guidance to assess preterm labour symptoms. Sheriff Principal Aisha Anwar KC made 11 recommendations for the future, including creating a "trigger list" to identify and assess early labour symptoms. Among these are reviewing electronic patient information records to improve alerts for at risk mothers, and having a direct telephone line to each maternity unit in Scotland for ambulance crews. In a statement, the McCormick family said: "The family could simply never have imagined the scale of both the individual and systems failures that came to light during the inquiry. "What seemed to be flaws with the electronic system of record keeping actually turned out to be a catalogue of errors with numerous opportunities to avoid the tragic outcome that followed." Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 March 2025
  10. Event
    until
    The Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations (MNSI) programme is part of a national strategy to improve maternity safety across the NHS in England. MNSI has completed over 3500 independent safety investigations, using system focused methodology, into maternity events, including direct and indirect maternal deaths in pregnancy and up to 6 weeks postpartum. MNSI made recommendations to trusts 33 times between September 2018 and December 2023 in relation to birthing outside of guidance. These were reviewed by a team of maternity investigators and clinical advisors who identified this as a learning theme. In this webinar we will explore how healthcare professionals are able to support women / birthing people who birth outside of guidance so we can improve the outcomes and the experience of mothers, birthing people and babies. Register for the webinar
  11. Event
    until
    This free webinar will cover the current state of serious events involving newborns related to labour and delivery in Pennsylvania facilities and provide a deeper look into the most commonly reported event: shoulder dystocia. We will review and response when a shoulder dystocia occurs, as well as steps that can be taken after such an event, to inform practitioners with the aim of improving outcomes to future instances. Register for the webinar
  12. News Article
    Women have faced delays in giving birth due to the ongoing strikes, a major trust’s chief executive has said. Matthew Hopkins, who joined Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust last month, told a board meeting on Thursday that industrial action was having a “significant and growing” impact on patients. He added that this extended beyond delays to outpatient appointments and elective operations, saying: “It is also delaying mums giving birth, because we are seeing delays now in being able to conduct our elective Caesarian sections.” Mr Hopkins said the impact was also “really significant” on staff, with those covering for colleagues “very, very tired”. “It is important we give a very clear message to the two sides of the argument – government and the [British Medical Association] – that we need a light at the end of the tunnel, and staff need a light at the end of the tunnel. “Going into winter, with this continuing disruption for our patients and our staff, is in my view unacceptable.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 28 September 2023
  13. News Article
    Thousands of women are having induction of labour delayed because of a shortage of staff, raising concerns about the safety of them and their babies, HSJ has found. The issue has been highlighted at seven hospitals in Care Quality Commission reports over the past six months, and HSJ has identified a further three trusts declaring they are concerned about it in their own board papers over the same period. At University Hospitals of Leicester Trust, more than 1,300 “red flags” were raised in a five-month period due to delays in the induction of labour, linked to staffing levels, the CQC said earlier this month. Most were dealys in continuing inductions, and a smaller number were delays between admission and beginning an induction. UHL indicated it had set its own “red flag” bar locally, so all the delays did not represent a national alert. Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, told HSJ: “At some maternity services we’ve found women having to wait long periods of time to be induced or for transfer to a labour ward once the induction process has started, and in some cases a lack of effective monitoring during periods of delay. “Where we have found concerns about delayed treatment – including induction of labour – we have made clear to those trusts that effective oversight of the issue is vital and that all action possible should be taken to mitigate any risk and keep people using the service safe.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 27 September 2023
  14. News Article
    Hospitals are still promoting a “natural birth is best” philosophy – despite a succession of maternity scandals highlighting the dangers of the approach. A Telegraph investigation has found a number of trusts continuing to push women towards “normal” births – meaning that caesarean sections and other interventions are discouraged. On Saturday, the Health Secretary has expressed concern about the revelation, vowing to raise the matter with senior officials. Guidelines for the NHS make it categorically clear that a woman seeking a caesarean section should be supported in her choice, after “an informed discussion about the options”. Maternity services were last year warned by health chiefs to take care in the language they used, amid concern about “bias” towards natural births. The warning from maternity officials followed concern that women were being left in pain and fear, with their preferences routinely ignored. The findings come 18 months after Dame Donna Ockenden published a scathing report into maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust, which warned that a focus on natural birth put women in danger. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 23 September 2023
  15. News Article
    Women are being "failed at every stage" when it comes to maternity care, say campaigners, as they call for more support for those experiencing traumatic births. Mumsnet found 79% of the 1,000 women who answered their questionnaire had experienced some form of birth trauma, with 53% saying it had put them off from having more children. And according to the snapshot of UK mothers, 44% also said healthcare professionals had used language implying they were "a failure or to blame" for what happened. Conservative MP Theo Clarke is leading calls for more action after her own experience, where she thought she was "going to die" after suffering a third degree tear and needing emergency surgery. Now, she has set up an all party parliamentary group on birth trauma. She said: "[It is] clear that more compassion, education and better after-care for mothers who suffer birth trauma are desperately needed if we are to see an improvement in mums' physical wellbeing and mental health. "It is vitally important women receive the help and support they deserve." Chief executive of Mumsnet, Justine Roberts, said the trauma had "long-lasting effects", adding: "It's clear that women are being failed at every stage of the maternity care process - with too little information provided beforehand, a lack of compassion from staff during birth, and substandard postnatal care for mothers' physical and mental health." Read full story Source: Sky News, 15 September 2023
  16. News Article
    Staffing shortages are likely to restrict the use of a beneficial painkiller in birthing suites, even once its use has been recommended by national guidance. Research by HSJ suggests that just over half of trusts are already offering remifentanil to women in labour, although some are having to restrict its use due to lack of staffing. Responses to freedom of information requests from 108 trusts revealed 55 offered remifentanil during labour in 2022-23. Recent draft National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on intrapartum care, published in April, suggested healthcare professionals “consider intravenous remifentanil patient-controlled analgesia” in obstetric units. This is partly because it reduces the likelihood of forceps or ventouse being required compared to intramuscular pethidine (an opioid commonly used in labour). However, the drug is not yet mentioned in official NICE guidelines and the opioid’s use in labour is currently off-label (its more common licenced use is alongside anaesthesia in surgery). A Royal College of Anaesthetists spokesperson said the use of drugs off-label “is extremely common in obstetrics given that drug trials do not often include pregnant women”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 September 2023
  17. News Article
    An 11-year-old boy suffered permanent brain damage after birth because of negligence by hospital midwives who then fabricated notes, a high court judge has ruled. Jayden Astley’s challenges in life include deafness, motor impairments, cognitive difficulties and behavioural difficulties, his lawyers said. After a five-day trial at the high court in Liverpool, Mr Justice Spencer ruled that staff at the Royal Preston hospital in Lancashire were negligent in their treatment of Jayden in 2012. The brain injury was caused by prolonged umbilical cord compression that resulted in acute profound hypoxia – lack of oxygen – sustained during the management of the birth, the court found. Midwives failed to accurately monitor Jayden’s heart rate when he was born and failed to identify his bradycardic, or slow, heart rate during delivery. The judge also found that some entries in notes were fabricated. In his judgment Spencer said it was agreed that all permanent damage to Jayden’s brain would have been avoided if he had been delivered three minutes earlier. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 2 August 2023
  18. News Article
    Maternity departments are raising thousands of safety reports every year about delayed inductions of labour, HSJ can reveal. Induction of labour may be used when women are overdue, because their waters have broken, or for other medical reasons to speed up the birth, such as poor growth of the baby. Delaying induction therefore may increase risks for both mothers and babies and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says trusts should raise a “red flag event” if it is delayed for more than two hours after admission. Information collected by HSJ from 50 trusts show 4,945 red flags related to delays in induction of labour in 2022-23. HSJ also found 3,109 reports in 2021-22 and 1,807 in 2020-21 across 47 trusts. Meanwhile, there were 1,997 Datix reports mentioning induction of labour in 2022-23 across 59 trusts able to give HSJ figures, in response to Freedom of Information Act requests, compared with 1,690 in 2021-22 and 1,368 in 2020-21. The Care Quality Commission has also raised concerns in inspections that incidents which should have been treated as “red flags” have not always been reported as such. The watchdog has also raised concerns about a lack of board-level oversight of maternity safety incidents and a need for clearer guidance for staff on reporting processes. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 2 April 2024
  19. News Article
    An inquiry into birth trauma has received more than 1,300 submissions from families. It is estimated that 30,000 women a year in the UK have suffered negative experiences during the delivery of their babies, while 1 in 20 develop post-traumatic stress disorder. The investigation is a cross-party initiative, led by MPs Theo Clarke and Rosie Duffield, in collaboration with the Birth Trauma Association. Ms Clarke the Conservative MP for Stafford, triggered the first ever parliamentary debate on the issue in October. In an emotional exchange in the House of Commons, she described her own experience following her daughter's birth at the Royal Stoke University Hospital in 2022. She bled heavily after suffering a tear and had to undergo two-hour surgery without general anaesthetic, due to an earlier epidural. The Birth Trauma Association, which is administering the inquiry, invited the public to submit written accounts of their own experiences. Dr Kim Thomas, from the association, said she had received an "overwhelming" number of personal accounts. Some cases date back as far as the 1960s. Read full story Source: BBC News, 25 February 2024
  20. News Article
    Lawyers and charities tell of mothers told to ‘labour at home as long as they can’, dangerously few midwives and ‘lies’ during natal care. As Rozelle Bosch approached her due date she had every reason to expect a healthy baby. Neither she, her husband nor the midwives knew that the child was in the breech position at 30 weeks. When her waters broke a fortnight early, Bosch and her husband, Eckhardt, both first-time parents, had been reassured by NHS Lanarkshire that all was well and that the mother was “low risk”. They were sent home from Wishaw hospital and told to monitor conditions until the pregnancy became “active”. Shortly before 11pm on 1 July 2021, her husband called an ambulance saying that Bosch was in labour and was giving birth. Bosch was in an upstairs bedroom on her knees and paramedics noted that “the baby was pink”. They soon asked the control room for a doctor or midwife to attend but none were available. By the time the ambulance took the family to hospital, the baby had turned blue. Within two days, baby Mirabelle had died. She had become trapped with only her feet and calves delivered while the couple were still at home. A post-mortem has found that Mirabelle suffered oxygen deprivation to the brain from “head entrapment” during delivery. Last month, her father explained to a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) at Glasgow sheriff court: “We were told Rozelle was healthy and Mirabelle was healthy. I think this was a lie and the consequences have me standing here today.” The way that the tragedy unfolded is striking, not just because of the devastating consequences, but because it is not an entirely isolated case. The same FAI is examining the deaths of two other newborns, Ellie McCormick and Leo Lamont, who also died in NHS Lanarkshire less than a month apart in 2019. Experts say it is rare for the Crown and Procurator Fiscal Service to group investigations in this way. Darren Deery, the McCormicks’ lawyer and a medical negligence specialist with Drummond Miller, said he had noticed a “considerable increase” in parents contacting the law firm in the past three years. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 11 February 2024
  21. News Article
    Doctors have warned of the risks of “freebirthing” – where a woman gives birth without the help of a medic or midwife. Unassisted births, or “freebirths”, are thought to have been on the increase since the start of the Covid pandemic, when people may have been worried about attending hospitals and home births were suspended in many areas. The practice is not illegal and women have the right to decline any care during their pregnancy and delivery. Some women hire a doula to support them during birth. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said women should be supported to have the birth they choose, but “safety is paramount” and families need to be aware of the risks of going it alone. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said it is in the early stages of collaboration with the Chief Midwifery Officer’s teams, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the Department of Health to better understand professional concerns about freebirthing and what organisations may need to do. Its statement on unassisted births supports women’s choice, but notes that “midwives are understandably concerned about women giving birth at home without assistance, as it brings with it increased risks to both the mother and baby”. It also states that women need to be informed that a midwife may not be available to be sent out to their home during labour if they change their mind and wish to have help. Read full story Source: The Independent, 8 February 2024
  22. News Article
    When pharmacist Ifeoma Onwuka, known to her friends as Laura, went into hospital to have her daughter, she and her husband hoped the delivery would go smoothly, and that they would soon be able to take their new arrival home  to meet her siblings.  Onwuka's labor was induced at James Paget University Hospital in Great Yarmouth in late April 2018. Things progressed quickly and there were soon signs that her baby was in distress, causing staff to begin preparations for an emergency Caesarian section, but Onwuka's daughter was born in the recovery room. Shortly after the birth, Onwuka's condition began to deteriorate. According to the family's lawyer, Tim Deeming, she began to bleed heavily, and was taken into surgery where attempts were made to stem the loss of blood. Hours later, and only after a second consultant had been called in, she was given an emergency hysterectomy. The mother-of-three died three days later. The coroner, Yvonne Blake, said an expert had told Onwuka's inquest that the delay to surgery contributed to her death, since acting early could have controlled the bleeding.  Black mothers have worse outcomes during pregnancy or childbirth than any other ethnic group in England. According to the latest confidential inquiry into maternal deaths (MBRRACE-UK). Black people in England are four times more likely to die in pregnancy or within the first six weeks of childbirth than their White counterparts.  Read full story Source: CNN. 14 January 2021
  23. News Article
    More women may suffer pain due to being conscious while undergoing caesareans or other pregnancy-related surgery under general anaesthetic than realised, a troubling new study has found. The report, conducted by medical journal Anaesthesia, found being awake while having a caesarean is far more common than it is with other types of surgery. Researchers discovered that one in 256 women going through pregnancy-related surgery are aware of what was going on — a far higher proportion than the one in every 19,000 identified in a previous national audit. If a patient is conscious at some point while under general anaesthetic, they may be able to recall events from the surgery such as pain or the sensation of being trapped, the researchers said. While the experiences generally only last for a few seconds or minutes, anaesthetists remain highly concerned. Women also felt tugging, stitching, feelings of dissociation and not being able to breathe - with some suffering long-term psychological damage that often involved characteristics of post-traumatic stress disorder. Read full story Source: The Independent, 13 January 2021
  24. News Article
    Rachel Hardeman has dedicated her career to fighting racism and the harm it has inflicted on the health of Black Americans. As a reproductive health equity researcher, she has been especially disturbed by the disproportionately high mortality rates for Black babies. In an effort to find some of the reasons behind the high death rates, Hardeman, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and three other researchers combed through the records of 1.8 million Florida hospital births between 1992 and 2015 looking for clues. They found a tantalising statistic. Although Black newborns are three times as likely to die as White newborns, when Black babies are delivered by Black doctors, their mortality rate is cut in half. "Strikingly, these effects appear to manifest more strongly in more complicated cases," the researchers wrote, "and when hospitals deliver more Black newborns." They found no similar relationship between White doctors and White births. Nor did they find a difference in maternal death rates when the doctor's race was the same as the patient's. Read full story Research paper Source: The Washington Post, 9 January 2021
  25. News Article
    A new training aid, developed in Fife, is helping to equip trainee medical staff from around the world with the skills to prevent late miscarriage and premature labour. It was invented by Dr Graham Tydeman, consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital, in conjunction with the St Thomas’ Hospital, London, and Limbs and Things. The lifelike simulator allows trainees to perform hands on cervical cerclage in advance of a real-life emergency. The procedure involves an emergency stitching around the cervix and is necessary when the cervix shortens or opens too early during pregnancy, helping to prevent late miscarriage or extreme premature labour. It is not a common event and the simulator was developed by Dr Tydeman following a request from medical trainees across the UK. The device has already been warmly received by hospitals and training institutions across the world – with orders from countries including New Zealand and India. Dr Tydeman said: “The reason this was developed is that it is not a common procedure and is very difficult to teach trainees." “Increasingly women are understandably asking about the experience of their surgeon and anyone having this procedure understandably does not want it to be the first one that a doctor has ever done because if it goes wrong there could be tragic consequences with loss of the baby. However, if a trainee has shown suitable skills using this simulator, I would be able to confidently reassure women that the doctor had been adequately trained, although a more experienced person would always help during the actual operation for the first few procedures on real women." Read full story Source: The Courier, 19 December 2020

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