Birth Injury Report 2024: Improving Perinatal Care in the UK

All-Party Parliamentary Group report on Birth Trauma in the UK

The report, published on 13 May 2024, is hard to read, and the personal testimonies are traumatic, but, in my view, this is essential reading for any lawyer undertaking birth injury work

For me, the subheading to the report “Listen to Mums: Ending the Postcode Lottery on Perinatal Care” says it all.

Women consistently report that their concerns throughout the perinatal period (the time from becoming pregnant up to one year post-birth) are often ignored. Listening to these concerns would make them feel more cared for, more in control of their perinatal experience, and view it as a positive experience. Addressing these concerns could prevent traumatic births or injuries to themselves or their babies.

Reading that women who gave birth as long ago as the 1970s still experience negative thoughts about their experience, and that this issue has not improved significantly over the last 50 years, particularly interested me.

Being a medical negligence lawyer, I have always known that medical care can be a postcode lottery in England. However, The vast differences in care between Trusts, especially in treating OASI (obstetric anal sphincter injury), shocked me. The way in which Trusts approach their OASI care in terms of prevention and treatment lacks continuity despite this being a common injury to a woman during labour.

Why should it be that there is no standard across NHS Trusts for perinatal / maternity care?

The report questions this, sets out the statistics, and identifies areas for improvement. It calls for the UK Government to publish a National Maternity Improvement Strategy, led by a new Maternity Commissioner who will report the Prime Minister and will outline ways to improve the care received.

Our birth injury specialist, Liz Oaten says about the report “This report highlights the importance of getting maternity care right both for women, babies, families and the NHS. Birth injury claims have the potential to ruin lives not only for the families but also for the health care professionals involved. Many claims involve overstretched units and mothers not being listened to. As one Obstetric expert once said to me -ignore the concerns of the mother at your peril, maternal instinct is so important as is regular training for staff.”

The medical negligence team at Lester Aldridge specialise in birth-related injuries to both mother and child. Birth injury cases are complex and require specific expertise. We will approach your case with experience, knowledge, and empathy. Understanding that it can be extremely difficult for you, as well as your partner, to talk about and relive your experience, we listen to you and support you through every step of the process. Our focus is on providing a personal and supportive service to achieve the best results, instructing recognised experts to maximise any damages award and getting answers to questions about what went wrong and why. We know that is just as important to you.