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Found 500 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
    The midwife's notes were short and to the point. The three letters - "FOH" - that she had written on a whiteboard next to names of heavily pregnant women were not there to alert colleagues to women having a specific medical condition or requiring a certain type of care. Instead, they were an acronym for a three-word offensive statement signalling they wanted the women to leave the maternity unit run by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH). The "F", a swear word. The "O", standing for "OFF". The "H", short for "HOME". The acronym was described in a 2018 resignation letter from another member of staff, now seen by BBC Panorama, raising concerns about attitudes within the unit. In the same letter, another midwife was reported to have advised colleagues to get pregnant women, who had arrived worried they were going into labour, to go home with the advice: "Don't be too kind, she'll keep coming back." The Nottingham trust is currently at the centre of the largest maternity inquiry in the history of the NHS - looking at care provided to about 2,500 families between 2012 and 2025. Led by senior midwife, Donna Ockenden, the inquiry is due to publish its findings on 24 June. "Nottingham thought that there was a Nottingham way, that they were some kind of superior NHS trust compared to others," Ockenden tells Panorama. Read full story Source: BBC News, 1 June 2026
  3. News Article
    Rates of type 2 diabetes are surging at twice the pace in younger women compared to their older counterparts, according to new analysis. Charity Diabetes UK suggests this alarming trend could stem from "little or no follow-up care" for individuals who develop the condition during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes (GD), characterised by insufficient insulin production leading to high blood sugar during pregnancy, typically resolves after childbirth. However, those affected face a significantly elevated risk of subsequently developing type 2 diabetes. Data compiled by Diabetes UK reveals a 47% increase in type 2 diabetes diagnoses among women under 40 between 2017/18 and 2023/24. The charity has voiced concerns that inadequate postnatal care for GD, which impacts between 10 and 20% of pregnant women, is a significant contributor to these escalating rates. Women with GD should be offered HbA1c blood tests to check for diabetes between six and 13 weeks after birth, and then once a year to measure average blood sugar levels. The first annual gestational diabetes audit, which was published last year by NHS England, showed that only 57% of women had an annual HbA1c test after having GD. It also showed that more than one in 10 (11%) of women with GD developed prediabetes within a year, while 15% developed type 2 diabetes within 10 years. Read full story Source: The Independent, 28 May 2026
  4. Content Article
    A new guidance supplement has been published by the Intensive Care Society that aims to improve the safety and quality of care when critically unwell pregnant or recently pregnant women are moved between areas within one hospital or moved to a different hospital (transfers). It builds on existing guidance and acknowledges some important additional factors that need to be considered around the time of the transfer. This is the first time that transfer guidance has been published by the Intensive Care Society relating specifically to pregnant or recently pregnant women.
  5. News Article
    The US supreme court upheld nationwide access to mail-order mifepristone, an abortion medication, in a shadow-docket decision on Thursday. Louisiana sued the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October in a bid to curtail the regulatory agency’s rules on prescribing mifepristone remotely, arguing that it interfered with the state’s ban on abortion. The fifth circuit ruled in Louisiana’s favor on 1 May, effectively banning mail-order mifepristone for the entire country. Two mifepristone manufacturers, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, filed an emergency request with the supreme court, which granted a temporary stay until at least Thursday. In a 7-2 decision with dissents from justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, the court sided against the fifth circuit, ending the ban – for now. In his dissent, Thomas called the mailing of mifepristone to patients “criminal enterprise”. He also noted that the 1873 Comstock Act, which broadly banned people from using the mail to send anything “obscene, lewd or lascivious”, including “any article or thing designed or intended for the prevention of conception or procuring an abortion”, should apply to mifepristone. Medication accounts for approximately two-thirds of abortions in the US. In large part because of mailed medication, abortion rates have stayed steady in the US despite bans in several states. Years of research have shown that abortion medications are safe and effective. The recent legal challenges, after the Dobbs decision that upended nationwide access to abortion, have been based on politics rather than evidence, experts say. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 May 2026
  6. News Article
    Taking antidepressants during pregnancy does not increase the risk of children going on to develop autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to an analysis of more than half a million pregnancies. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Hong Kong and published in the Lancet Psychiatry, analysed data from 37 existing studies that included 600,000 pregnant women who had taken antidepressants, and 25 million women who had no antidepressant use during their pregnancies. Before controlling for key factors such as pre-existing mental health conditions, the analysis found that antidepressant use by the mother during pregnancy was associated with a 35% increased risk of ADHD and a 69% increased risk of autism. However, when controlling for confounding factors such as pre-existing mental health conditions, this risk became non-significant. This means the meta-analysis found no significant link between antidepressant use during pregnancy and a greater risk of autism and ADHD in children, after controlling for the mother’s mental health or other influencing factors such as genetics. Dr Wing-Chung Chang, a professor at the University of Hong Kong and lead author of the study, said: “We know many parents-to-be worry about the potential impact of taking medication during pregnancy; our study provides reassuring evidence that commonly used antidepressants do not increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and ADHD in children. “While all medications carry risks, so too does stopping antidepressants during pregnancy due to an increased risk of relapse. Therefore, for women with moderate-severe depression, doctors and patients must carefully weigh the potential risks and benefits of continuing antidepressant treatment during pregnancy against the potential harms of untreated depression. “Although our study found a small increase in the risk of autism and ADHD in the children of women who had used antidepressants during pregnancy, it also found that this risk disappeared when we accounted for other factors. The increased risk was also seen in the children of fathers who took antidepressants and of mothers with antidepressant use before, but not during, pregnancy. “Together, this suggests that it is not the antidepressants themselves causing an increased risk in autism and ADHD but it is more likely to be due to other factors, including genetic predisposition to conditions such as ADHD, autism, and mental health conditions.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 May 2026
  7. News Article
    Women have had to undergo major emergency surgery, including a hysterectomy, when medical staff failed to detect they had a rare but potentially fatal complication of pregnancy. Scores of women have come forward to tell their stories of how they were affected by placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) since the launch in February of a campaign to raise awareness among NHS staff and mothers-to-be of the dangers it poses. One of them lost so much blood while giving birth that she has had to give up working as an NHS operating theatre nurse and suffers from PTSD. Another lost six litres of blood and blames her daughter’s cerebral palsy on the stroke the child had while hospital personnel were battling to save her life after an emergency caesarean section. Others have suffered permanent damage to their bladder or bowels. PAS is associated with a history of C-section birth while assisted fertility using in vitro fertilisation also increases the risk. It occurs when the placenta, which gives the foetus nutrients and oxygen, grows too deeply into the wall of the woman’s uterus and blocks some or all of the cervix. This makes the usual separation of the placenta from the uterus during birth difficult. One hundred women who are concerned about how medical teams dealt with their PAS have contacted Amisha and Nik Adhia, who set up the Action for Accreta campaign. The couple have collated the women’s experiences into a dossier of stories that vividly illustrate how often the condition goes undetected and the appalling physical consequences for those involved. The 100 cases reveal “a dangerous gap in maternity care” and “systemic failures” that should prompt UK hospitals to do much more to train staff how to spot and treat PAS once it is diagnosed, say campaigners. Politicians from all the main parties at Westminster are supporting their call for a major overhaul in how the NHS manages the condition. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 May 2026
  8. News Article
    Access to mifepristone, the FDA-approved medication used to end pregnancy, could become severely limited following a ruling from a US appeals court on Friday, which temporarily blocked the drug from being dispensed through the mail. The decision is for now the most sweeping threat to abortion access since the supreme court rolled back abortion rights in 2022, said Kelly Baden, vice-president at the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy group. “If allowed to stand, it would severely restrict access to mifepristone in every state, including those where abortion is broadly legal and where voters have acted to protect abortion rights,” she said. The so-called “abortion pill” is part of a two-drug regimen backed by decades of evidence for its efficacy and safety, and is used in the majority of abortions in the US. Usage has risen in recent years, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 ruling from the supreme court that overturned federal protections for the right to an abortion. In the year after that decision, the FDA formally modified its regulations to allow the drug to be prescribed online, expanding its use even in states where abortion care was being constricted. The drug has become a key target for the anti-abortion movement, and a series of lawsuits have challenged the drug’s initial approval in 2000 and the subsequent rules making it easier to obtain. Meanwhile, with the FDA now under Trump, the agency has opened a review of the medication. Once this analysis is completed, officials at the agency said, they will determine if changes to its regulations are warranted. Reproductive rights advocates have voiced concerns that the review could further limit mifepristone’s use, despite the evidence supporting its safety. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 May 2026
  9. 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
  10. News Article
    After going through two devastating miscarriages, Lisa Varey could not believe what she was thinking. She knew she would have to miscarry again before she could get the help she needed. Only when you have had three miscarriages do you normally qualify for specialist NHS help in England. One in five pregnancies end in miscarriage, most before 14 weeks. After her second miscarriage, Lisa was invited on to a pilot project at Birmingham Women and Children's Hospital, which experts believe will prevent thousands of miscarriages every year by offering earlier checks and advice. As part of the project, women who had suffered one miscarriage were given a one-to-one consultation with a specialist nurse to discuss lifestyle changes - including reducing alcohol consumption and giving up smoking - and using the hormone progesterone, which can help prevent miscarriage. After a second miscarriage, women were tested for anaemia and abnormal thyroid function, which can affect pregnancy outcomes. They were also offered early scans to reassure them the pregnancy was advancing normally. Following a third miscarriage, the pathway joins up with what the NHS currently offers - including a referral to a recurrent miscarriage clinic, further blood tests and a pelvic ultrasound. Tests showed Lisa would benefit from taking the hormone progesterone to help maintain her pregnancy and a regular aspirin tablet to increase the chances of a healthy birth. Lisa is now pregnant and in the last weeks of her second trimester. She breaks down in tears as she speaks about how much difference the project's help has made. "There's so much support for pregnant women, but it didn't always feel like there was any support for women who were no longer pregnant. We're having to go through that journey of just feeling very sad." Professor Arri Coomarasamy, head of miscarriage research at Tommy's, says the three miscarriage wait is an unacceptable anomaly. "We don't do that with any other medical condition. If somebody has a heart attack, we don't say have your third heart attack and then we will see if there is anything we can do," he says. He says the findings of the study, if rolled out across the NHS, could also save the NHS money. The pilot suggests the extra costs of staff and training are outweighed by the money saved having fewer women miscarry. Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 April 2026
  11. 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
  12. News Article
    New mothers who had hypertension in pregnancy could reduce their risk of heart attack, stroke and potentially early death through daily blood pressure checks at home, research suggests. Women who regularly monitored their blood pressure in the weeks after giving birth, and had doctors tailor their medication if needed, had better functioning arteries nine months later than those who received routine care, scientists found. When the medication was adjusted to account for blood pressure changes, the women ended up with less stiff arteries, an effect that researchers at the University of Oxford estimate could reduce the future risk of heart attack or stroke by 10%. Paul Leeson, a professor of cardiovascular medicine who led the study, said the findings suggested that the weeks after birth provided a “powerful and often overlooked opportunity” to protect women’s future health. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 April 2026
  13. News Article
    A trust whose maternity care is under scrutiny is launching a review of all stillbirths last year, it has confirmed to HSJ. Sandwell and West Birmingham Trust (SWBT) confirmed it was due to begin a review of all 2025 cases. This will include a “comprehensive” review of care provided to identify “themes and learning”. It will also examine the reviews that staff carried out at the time of the stillbirths – a process which uses the national perinatal mortality review tool (PMRT). There have been concerns about whether those reviews were carried out properly at SWBT. The new review will be led and hosted by SWBT, but with experts from NHS England, and clinicians from other trusts in the local maternity and neonatal system (LMNS), taking part. It is the latest in a string of reviews to examine maternity care at SWBT, including the ongoing national investigation by Baroness Amos. The trust’s perinatal mortality has been flagged multiple times as an outlier, but it improved in the most recent data. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 24 April 2026
  14. News Article
    The NHS has announced every maternity service in England will have to upend clinical standards to reduce the number of women who die during or after pregnancy. Increasing numbers of women have been reported to be dying during pregnancy or in the weeks after giving birth. According to the latest official data, there were 252 maternal deaths from 2022 to 2024 – 20% higher than the rates from 2009 to 2011. This is the equivalent of 12.8 deaths for every 100,000 women giving birth. NHS England's chief midwife Kate Brintworth (CMO) told Sky News that, while improvements were being made, "none of us think care is in the right place". "We don't think that things are good enough," she said. "It's a terrible anguish to lose a child," she added. "I think it's one of the worst things that can happen to a human, and our responsibility as leaders in maternity is to make sure those families don't experience that anguish." Ms Brintworth hopes today's announcements will ensure avoidable deaths are "significantly" reduced. The Maternity Safety Alliance, a campaign group, said it was "alarmed" that Ms Brintworth's response to the data suggested "a lack of urgency, accountability and meaningful action" to the "long known and completely avoidable harm and death that is happening everyday in our maternity services". Read full story Source: Sky News, 23 April 2026
  15. News Article
    A midwife who broke down in tears at the inquest of a baby who was delivered “blue and floppy” said an ambulance should have been called almost an hour-and-a-half before the birth. Poppy Hope Lomas was seven days old when she died on 26 October 2022 following complications during a “high-risk” home birth that her mother said she was encouraged to have. Barnet Coroner’s Court had previously heard Poppy’s mother Gemma Lomas, from Enfield, north London, was not made aware of the risks involved with delivering naturally in her home, having already delivered her first daughter, Willow, by caesarean in 2018. Midwife Sasha Field, who was present at Poppy’s birth, said in her written statement, which was read out to the inquest by senior coroner Andrew Walker, that an ambulance should have been called around 90 minutes before Poppy was born when she heard the baby’s heart rate slow down after a contraction, as a report by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch had found. In fact, midwives told Jason Lomas, Poppy’s father, to call an ambulance at around 10.37pm, two minutes after she was born, by which time it was clear she was showing no signs of life, Ms Field said in her statement. Read full article. Source: The Independent (21 April 2026)
  16. News Article
    A vaccine during pregnancy which protects newborns against nasty chest infections is cutting hospital admissions of babies by more than 80%, UK health officials say. A virus, called RSV, affects many babies in the first few months of life and can leave them gasping for breath and struggling to feed, with more than 20,000 babies ending up seriously ill in hospital in the UK every year. Since 2024, women have been offered a vaccine from 28 weeks of pregnancy to protect their newborns. A new study analysing the impact of the vaccine shows it gives "excellent protection" to babies when they are most vulnerable to RSV, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says. RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) is one of the main reasons young babies are admitted to hospital before the age of one. Half of newborns catch the virus, which can cause anything from a mild cold to a life-threatening chest infection because of inflammation in the lungs. Small numbers die from it every year. The new vaccine was introduced in the UK in 2024 after clinical trials showed it could boost a pregnant woman's immune system enough to pass on protection to the baby through the placenta. This means babies born to vaccinated pregnant women are protected from the day they are born. This new study shows the protection is nearly 85% when given at least four weeks before baby is born. Some protection is still possible if the jab is given later than this. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 April 2026
  17. News Article
    Taking acetaminophen – known in the US by the brand name Tylenol – during pregnancy has no effect on later autism diagnoses, according to a sweeping new study from Denmark published on Monday. The Trump administration has targeted Tylenol use in pregnancy as a major cause of autism in children, which appears to have led to a drop in pregnant people taking the pain reliever. Health officials announced in September 2025 that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would initiate a label change for acetaminophen, warning of a potential link to autism. Trump cautioned several times against taking the pain reliever during pregnancy. “If you’re pregnant, don’t take Tylenol,” Trump said at a press conference at the time. “Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t have your baby take Tylenol.” He said the medication was “not good” and taking Tylenol during pregnancy was associated with “a very increased risk of autism”. Through Denmark’s robust national healthcare system, researchers were able to track more than 1.5 million children ‌born between 1997 and 2022 in the national health registry, including 31,098 children who were exposed to Tylenol in utero. Autism was diagnosed in 1.8% of children who were exposed to Tylenol and 3% of those who weren’t, according to the study, which was published in Jama Pediatrics. A similar 2024 study in Sweden found a marginal link that disappeared after taking siblings into account, suggesting that autism is strongly genetic, which has already been demonstrated in other studies. Tylenol is safe to take during pregnancy and can play a key role in relieving pain and bringing down fevers. Yet after the September announcement, Tylenol orders for pregnant women in emergency rooms dropped by 16% in the initial study period, according to a Lancet study published last month. Health officials’ “words are affecting behavior”, said Jeremy Faust, a co-author of that Lancet study, an emergency physician at Mass General Brigham and a health services researcher at Harvard Medical School. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 April 2026
  18. News Article
    Women’s deaths during pregnancy, labour or soon after giving birth are at the highest level for two decades despite the NHS receiving dozens of recommendations to act on life-threatening symptoms. An investigation by The Times shows the NHS was issued with 67 separate warnings between 2013 and 2023 to take signs of potentially fatal complications in mothers — known as red flags — seriously. Over the same decade, there was a 50% rise in the UK’s maternal death rate — defined as deaths in pregnancy, childbirth, or the six weeks after giving birth — from 8.54 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies in 2013 to 12.80 in 2023. The last time the rate was this high was in 2005. The most recent available data shows 257 women died in the two years to 2023. The biggest killer was blood clots, followed by heart issues, suicide, stroke, sepsis and severe bleeding. Over the past decade, a string of reviews have issued 748 recommendations for improving NHS maternity services across 59 official reports, yet death rates have soared. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has commissioned a national maternity inquiry led by Baroness Amos, a Labour peer, which is due to deliver its recommendations in the summer. Campaigners are sceptical about whether another report will result in real change. Theo Clarke, a former Conservative MP who led a parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma in 2024, said it was a “national scandal” that maternal deaths were rising while “recommendations are ignored”. She said: “NHS maternity services are swamped with recommendations from scores of reports, and still women and their babies are being harmed by a lack of focus and leadership necessary to implement them.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 5 April 2026
  19. News Article
    Pregnant women and cancer patients could face “life-threatening” delays because of a worsening shortage of sonographers, experts warn. The vacancy rate for sonographers is 24.2% across England, rising to 38.2% in some areas, according to the Society of Radiographers (SoR). In addition, 1 in every 13 (7.6%) sonographers are planning to retire within the next year, the census found. Sonographers carry out ultrasound scans which are essential to pregnancy care and are also used to diagnose cancer. Pregnant women undergo scans when their baby is 12 weeks old and again at 20 weeks. Katie Thompson, SoR president and a practising sonographer, said shortages forced hospitals to pull in practitioners from other areas to keep the antenatal services going at the "expense of those other services". "Hospitals try their very best to get the three-month and five-month antenatal screening scans done on time," she said. "But when there aren't enough staff, prioritising those scans has a knock-on effect on more urgent later foetal growth scans, which in some cases need to be done within 24 or 36 hours. "Departments end up struggling to fit in patients who need these emergency scans." Read full story Source: Sky News, 28 March 2026
  20. News Article
    Pregnant women must be routinely included in clinical trials to help them access medicines and “prevent another thalidomide scandal”, doctors have said. At present, 99% cent of clinical trials exclude women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, according to experts at the British Pharmacological Society (BPS). Women are in the dark about the safety of thousands of common medications and many choose to “stop all their medication” immediately after becoming pregnant. The BPS gave the example of antidepressants, which are taken by eight million people in Britain but have not been trialled in pregnant women. As a result some people stop the drugs, which puts them at risk of postnatal depression and suicide, one of the leading causes of death in new mothers. The BPS is urging health officials to require pharmaceutical companies to “routinely include pregnant women, where safe and appropriate, in clinical research”. It said that companies should also monitor safety data for pregnant women taking approved drugs, and that doctors should balance the risk of potential harm to unborn babies with the danger to mothers of stopping or switching certain medications. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 18 March 2026
  21. News Article
    Women experiencing miscarriage are facing additional trauma and distress due to a significant lack of adequate follow-up care, a new report has revealed. One patient described her experience as "dehumanising", while others reported feeling dismissed and traumatised by the current system. Research by the Miscarriage Association, which underpins the report, found that nearly two-thirds of women felt their follow-up care was insufficient. Furthermore, more than four in 10 of those who sought mental health support after losing their baby did not receive it. The new report urges immediate action to make comprehensive follow-up care a routine part of miscarriage management. Some 65% of women in the study said they did not have adequate follow-up care, while 42% said they did not receive treatment for mental health symptoms following their miscarriage. Many women felt they were sent home with little or no guidance, or with conflicting advice, according to the Miscarriage Association. Some reported insensitive wording from healthcare professionals, with one woman claiming she was told her baby “had been put in the incinerator with the rest of the medical waste” whilst recovering from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Read full story Source: The Independent, 9 March 2026
  22. Content Article
    An estimated one in four pregnancies in the UK ends in loss. Yet many women and their partners still face gaps in care, understanding and recognition at one of the most vulnerable moments in their lives. To better understand these experiences, the Miscarriage Association carried out a national survey exploring the experience of miscarriage across healthcare settings, workplaces and personal relationships. More than 1,000 people affected by pre-24-week pregnancy loss shared their experiences, providing a detailed picture of how miscarriage is currently experienced across the UK. Their responses highlight important gaps in care, support and awareness — and the changes needed to ensure no one faces pregnancy loss without the compassion and support they deserve. Experiences of miscarriage care varied significantly across the UK. While some respondents described compassionate and supportive healthcare professionals, many reported gaps in information, follow-up care and access to appropriate services. Common themes included: Lack of clear information about miscarriage and treatment options. Inconsistent access to scans, investigations and Early Pregnancy Units (EPUs). Miscommunication or conflicting advice. Little or no follow-up care after pregnancy loss. For many respondents, the absence of follow-up support left them feeling isolated and uncertain about both their physical recovery and emotional wellbeing.
  23. Content Article
    More than two years after the Hughes Report was published, the UK Government has yet to provide a clear timeline for implementing a compensation scheme for the thousands of patients harmed by pelvic mesh and valproate. Published in February 2024 by the Patient Safety Commissioner for England, Professor Henrietta Hughes, the report examined options for redress for patients and families affected by these interventions. In this letter to the Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Professor Hughes urges him to ensure that a clear timetable is set and that financial redress is delivered without further delay.
  24. 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
  25. News Article
    After five hospitals failed to spot that she had a rare but potentially fatal complication of childbirth, Amisha Adhia is to launch a campaign urging the NHS to do more to diagnose the condition and save lives. Pregnant women are at much greater risk of developing placenta accreta spectrum if they have already given birth by caesarean section or had IVF treatment. If it is not identified before the woman goes into labour, she is at risk of having to undergo an emergency hysterectomy or bleeding to death from a severe haemorrhage. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 18 February 2026

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