Meet our Associate Trainers: Anna Nelson
Anna Nelson shares why she decided to become a Birthrights Associate Trainer.
Women’s experiences
‘I remember looking at my partner and saying, “I’m going to be a Black statistic”’
Birthrights releases report of findings from year-long inquiry into racial injustice in maternity care The safety of hundreds of women and birthing people from Black and Brown and mixed ethnicity backgrounds is being put at risk due to systemic racism within UK maternity care, a year-long inquiry by Birthrights has found. The report, titled Systemic … Read more
BLOG: International Day of the Midwife 2022
Student midwife Emily’s story My name is Emily. I’m a second-year student midwife, and I absolutely LOVE it. Before starting this amazing journey in midwifery, I was a Musician in The British Army for nearly nine years. I was a member of The Band and Bugles of the Rifles and then The Band of The … Read more
Ockenden review: Birthrights’ response
Nobody expected the Ockenden report published last week to be an easy read. However the breadth and pervasiveness of the issues at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust over such a prolonged period of time is staggering to comprehend. That this led to the avoidable deaths of women and hundreds of babies is absolutely heart-breaking … Read more
Birthrights announces new partnership with Komu
We are pleased to announce a new partnership with Komu, a pregnancy, birth and postnatal organisation offering accessible and affordable antenatal and postnatal care for expectant and new parents. This partnership builds on our vision to ensure everyone receives the respect and dignity they deserve in pregnancy and childbirth, and Komu empowers parents through knowledge … Read more
Birthrights responds to the Ockenden review
Today (Wednesday 30 March) the long-awaited final report of Donna Ockenden’s review into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust will be published. Amy Gibbs, Birthrights’ Chief Executive, said ‘It is devastating to hear the scale of deaths, injuries and trauma that might have been prevented at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust. Our thoughts … Read more
Survey finds only one in four felt the information they received prepared them for induction
A survey of more than 2,000 women in the UK has found many lacked enough information to make an informed decision about induction of labour. In August 2021, the Patient Information Forum conducted an online survey into women’s experiences of being induced in collaboration with maternity charities including Birthrights. In less than a fortnight, 2,325 … Read more
BLOG: Second birth partners – why does it matter to women/birthing people?
Today we hear from Birth and Postnatal Doula, Carla, trained by BirthBliss Academy and her client Kitty about their experience of navigating NHS maternity care, during the pandemic. The experience of being told slightly different things by different staff members, and that nagging fear that you might not be allowed something that is really important to you, even … Read more
BLOG: Second birth partners – the maternity services perspective…
Visitor restrictions in maternity units have changed significantly over the last few weeks which is fantastic news. However one of the areas where we would like to see more progress is Trusts and Boards inviting second birth partners back into maternity services as a matter of course. This may not come top of the list of priorities … Read more
BLOG: Agoraphobia and mental capacity – a new obstetric intervention case
Last week, a recent Court of Protection case involving a woman with agoraphobia was reported in the media. The woman, known as GH, had been in labour at home for nearly 72 hours and the ruling describes her labour as having become “obstructed”. The case was heard as an emergency out of hours hearing. The … Read more