‘Natural births rift is harming babies’

Mothers and infants at risk as midwives continue war of words in wake of the Morecambe Bay scandal

MOTHERS and babies could end up being harmed in a disagreement between midwives over “natural” births, the head of an NHS safety inquiry warned.

Earlier this month it emerged that the Royal College of Midwives had abandoned a decade-long campaign for “normal births”.

An “overzealous” pursuit of natural childbirth “at any cost” had previously been implicated in the Morecambe Bay scandal, in which 11 babies died.

Dr Bill Kirkup, who led the investigation into the scandal, yesterday welcomed the decision by the Royal College to drop the term.

But he said he had been “dismayed” by the reaction he had seen since the decision, with “bickering and scaremongering” from all sides.

He said such rifts and increasing “polarisation” of the arguments around childbirth could undermine efforts to improve patient safety, and childbirth experiences.

James Titcombe, who campaigned for maternity safety after the death of his son Joshua at Morecambe Bay, said he had been shocked by the hostility he had encountered from some opposed to the change.

While Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the college, defended the decision to drop the term, the new president of the college opposed the move – stating in a tweet which has since been deleted: “This is war now”.

Last week, safety campaigners said a record rise in claims for babies left brain-damaged by NHS blunders was being fuelled by a “cult-like fixation” on normal birth.

Bereaved parents made 232 such claims against the NHS in 2016-17 – a 23 per cent rise from 188 cases the year before, official figures show.

Dr Kirkup, a former president of the college, suggested the trend was possibly being fuelled by too much intervention. He said the debate following the RCM’S announcement had concerned him. “I’ve been dismayed, both by the unnecessarily personal tone of these exchanges, and by some of its content,” he said.

Writing on hsj.co.uk, Dr Kirkup added: “It is vital that we stop polarising this argument, and drop the scaremongering claims on both sides. Safety is not inimical to a good experience of childbirth, and informed choice is not inimical to safety.

“If we continue to bicker, those most harmed will be the women and babies

‘I’ve been dismayed, both by the unnecessarily personal tone of these exchanges, and by some of its content’

we are all trying to help.” Last month, an audit found three in four newborns who die or are left brain damaged in maternity units might have been saved with proper care.

The study by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists examined 1,136 births in 2015 that ended in neonatal death, severe brain injury or stillbirth after a pregnancy came to term. In 76 per cent of properly documented cases, the baby might have been saved from death or profound disability had different action been taken, the audit found.

♦ Thousands of patients may have been put at risk after authorities failed to make crucial hospital appointments, an independent review claims.

The investigation, ordered by Portsmouth Hospital trust, found almost 12,000 patients may have been put at “significant clinical risk” because they did not have planned check-ups, after undergoing procedures.

Worst affected treatment areas were gastroenterology, ophthalmology and cardiology, the report, seen by the Health Service Journal, found.