MP urges Government to accept birth inquiry findings
MP Helen Morgan has urged the Government to accept the findings of a birth trauma inquiry in full as she praised the brave women from Shropshire who contributed to the report.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Birth Trauma presented its findings in Parliament on Monday after hearing evidence from more than 1,300 women.
The group is calling on the Government to publish a National Maternity Improvement Strategy, led by a new Maternity Commissioner who will report to the Prime Minister.
Helen - a member of the APPGs for birth trauma, baby loss and maternity services - took an active role in the inquiry, attending evidence sessions in Parliament and compiling evidence from mothers in Shropshire.
Helen has now praised the women who shared their traumatic experiences with the inquiry and commended Stafford MP Theo Clarke for leading the project after suffering a traumatic birth herself.
Theo shared her terrifying experience with Parliament in a speech to Parliament in October, during an emotional debate where Helen also shared her experience of giving birth and the aftercare that followed.
The Birth Trauma Inquiry highlighted the postcode lottery in maternity services across the country and has been published two years after the Ockenden Review into maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust.
While the Ockenden Review examined failings in Shropshire that contributed to the deaths of 201 babies and nine mothers, this new inquiry looked specifically at birth trauma
Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said:
“This inquiry has exposed what many of us have long feared about the state of the country’s maternity services. Theo Clarke deserves a lot of praise for her excellent work leading the inquiry.
“It was extremely moving to hear first-hand from injured mothers during the evidence sessions and I want to thank the many brave women who contributed to the report.
“For so many women to have such traumatic experiences of birth is nothing short of a national tragedy. Too many are being failed in pregnancy, birth and aftercare as this report shows.
“It’s time the Government took action to end the postcode lottery in maternity services. I urge them to accept the report in full.”
