The best birth possible

In recent years, there has been a politically correct orthodoxy imposed on expectant mothers, giving the impression that there is only one right way to give birth and subsequently look after an infant. This was a tragic development, which fortunately is beginning to be reversed. Britain has one of the worst rates of stillbirth in the developed world and some appalling examples of post-natal care. A major audit recently discovered that three in four newborns who die or are left brain damaged in maternity units might have been saved with the right treatment. And an inquiry into the scandal at Morecambe Bay maternity unit found that midwives had embarked on an “over-zealous” campaign against medical intervention “at any cost”. Eleven infants died.

In an interview with this newspaper, Professor Cathy Warwick, the outgoing chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), makes some important and welcome statements. For over a decade the RCM campaigned for so-called “normal births”: births with as little medical intervention as possible. Now Prof Warwick, who denies the campaign compromised safety, does admit that it created “the wrong idea” – that there is a wrong or right way to give birth.

She rightly says that for some women, a natural birth would be best, but for others a C-section might be safer and more sensible, or even the only option. She also states we should stop frightening women who give birth in their forties and that women who are medically unable to breast-feed should not feel guilty about it.

It will be great progress for millions of women and their children if Prof Warwick’s tone filters down to her fellow midwives – and that more mothers have “the best birth possible for them” in conditions that are comfortable and safe.