On the worrying state of maternity care

There is an election on Thursday and I believe it is being used to stir a sense of urgency regarding recent events affecting maternity care. I feel compelled to propose a non-political perspective.

There are as many opinions as there are ways to birth and parent our children and I genuinely believe that no one way is more correct than another. What is important is our intent and sense of personal responsibility. Therefore, this article isn't written as a persuasive piece to convince anyone to vote in any particular way but rather a call to question our individual values and invest energy and action into protecting our futures and our children's futures. It is also a call to unify parents and doulas over our common goals.

It seems like the last several months have been plagued with many issues dividing mothers and maternity care providers: the MBRACE study, #metoo in the birth room, a string of articles in the Daily Mail casting doulas in an unprofessional spotlight, the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust scandal, the embargo on the MBRACE report to name but a few.

I've lost track of the number of times I've seen or heard women say they are worried about the safety of birthing mothers in this environment. I hear their concerns, but I feel their feelings have been stirred needlessly.

A recent study found that 1 in 3 women have mental health difficulties caused by trauma experienced in the birth room. These women describe events that left them feeling their rights were violated and out of control.  

Despite increasing monitoring in pregnancy and increasing interventions maternal mortality rates have stopped falling. Although they are lower in the UK than other developed nations an unconscionable number of women lose their lives in childbirth or soon after. What's more, BAME women are five times more likely to die than Northern European women. This is unacceptable.

Some might say that these injustices were created by the system, so the onus is on the system to correct them. While I would agree that since we have a government funded health service there is certainly a government responsibility to address these issues. But can we reasonably expect a solution to come from the creators of the problem? Can great change come out of a system that is over subscribed, under-staffed, and under-funded? And which party is really responsible for the current permutation of that system?

Medical care should not be politicised. Instead, individuals can take responsibility for positive birth into their own hands. In my experience working as a doula, the families that have the best experience of childbirth are those that take control of when, where, how, and with whom they birth. They do not leave these choices to NHS policy. They are assertive. They have a plan and they have back up plans. Often they hire care providers consistent with their cultural heritage, like doulas or traditional midwives.

Any real and lasting change comes from people taking personal responsibility for making informed and conscious choices. If enough women begin to take back their autonomy in birth in this way, the system will be forced to respond. 

So in reality, nothing has changed despite the headlines of crisis. Birth, like anything in life, has always held and always will hold certain risks. It is up to parents to take responsibility for those risks and demand the care they desire and deserve to minimise those risks. 

Don't be alarmed by these headlines. Be decisive. Know your plan. Take action to bring it into reality.