Protecting human rights in childbirth
Birthrights are delighted to share that Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) will offer maternal request caesareans at the John Radcliffe hospital going forward. Elizabeth Prochaska and Maria Booker from Birthrights met with Sir Jonathan Montgomery (Chair of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, OUH) and Professor Meghana Pandit (Chief Medical Officer, OUH) on the … Read more
Birthrights has today published legal advice, which states that requiring a partner or new parent to self-isolate may be unlawful in certain circumstances. We have written to NHS England & Improvement, asking them to correct the paragraphs in their visiting guidance for maternity services which suggest that partners or new parents should always be asked … Read more
We are convening a national inquiry into racial injustice in maternity care, throughout 2021, with support from law firm Leigh Day. The inquiry will be led by an expert panel made up of Black and Brown people with lived experience, midwives and obstetricians, healthcare and human rights lawyers, and other experts across academia, anti-racism, health policy and participation. … Read more
Women have told us that how Trusts communicate with them about changes to maternity services can be as important as the changes themselves. In this guest blog, Sally Talbot shares what the maternity team at South Warwickshire Foundation Trust have done to communicate effectively with both women/birthing people and staff during the pandemic…. We are … Read more
Birthrights has received legal advice stating that Trusts which prevent partners from attending scans, and don’t allow partners to be involved in the appointment remotely, may be acting unlawfully and unreasonably.
We have had hundreds of enquiries via our advice line about whether partners should be able to attend scans in person, and if not, whether a partner should be able to take part in a scan appointment remotely. This blog post explores the issues. Should partners be allowed to attend scans in person? Yes if … Read more
Reflections from our Chief Executive, Amy Gibbs. Each December, we reflect as a team on our achievements. 2020 has posed more challenges than any of us could have imagined – personally, professionally and for human rights in childbirth. Having only come back from maternity leave in October, I’m in total awe of the team for … Read more
Birthrights has today written to NHS England and NHS Improvement calling for national guidance on easing visiting restrictions in maternity services in England, to recognise the unique needs of pregnant women/birthing people and their partners. Some Trusts still have the same visiting restrictions that were put in place at the height of the pandemic. Birthrights … Read more
“It is … critical that the report is made publicly available, so that all organisations working in the sector can learn from it and work to address the underlying causes” Today Birthrights and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) wrote to the Health Minister, Nadine Dorries, asking the Government to publish their inquiry into pain … Read more
Birthrights has signed an open letter to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, calling for the reinstatement of the Maternity Safety Training Fund. The letter was initiated by the charity Baby Lifeline. The last Maternity Safety Training Fund, in 2016, enabled Trusts to access a wide range of training courses to ensure staff were up to … Read more