Protecting human rights in childbirth
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
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
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
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
The #BasicBirthRights campaign seeks to raise awareness of the absolute rights women and birthing people have in maternity care
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
Much proverbial ink has been spent this week responding to the first report from the Ockenden review into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust. Finding something new to say to another heartbreaking report into maternity services is challenging and yet the depth and scale of the harm done to families demands a response. … 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