No to epidurals in NHS ‘cult of natural birth’
WOMEN in labour are being refused epidurals amid concern that a “cult of natural childbirth” in NHS hospitals is leaving rising numbers in agony.
Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, in vowing to make NHS maternity services world leading, said last night he would launch an investigation and act to ensure that women’s choices were being respected.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph found hospitals in breach of official guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence by refusing clear requests from mothers-to-be for the pain relief.
Women said they were being told “it’s not called labour for nothing – it’s meant to be hard work”, as doctors refused their requests.
Mr Hancock said that all expectant mothers should be able to make an informed choice in the knowledge that their choices would be fully respected.
“Clinical guidance clearly states that you can ask for pain relief at any time – before and during labour – and as long as it is safe to do so this should never be refused,” he said.
“I’m concerned by evidence that such requests are being denied for anything other than a clinical reason. It’s vital this guidance is being followed right across our NHS, as part of making
it the best place in the world to give birth. Women being denied pain relief is wrong, and we will be investigating.”
He spoke after British charities including the British Pregnancy Advice Service, Birthrights and Pregnant Then Screwed all called for action to be taken over the revelation.
Official guidelines from Nice state that women must be able to access pain relief when they request it, including epidurals.
However, The Sunday Telegraph identified six NHS trusts where women pleading for pain relief were refused it.
It comes as official figures show that the number of women given pain relief during childbirth has fallen.
Statistics from NHS Digital show that the percentage of women in labour given pain medication such as epidurals had fallen from 67 per cent in the year 2008-09 to 61 per cent in 2018-19.
Clare Murphy, from the pregnancy advice service, said: “Pain management is not a nice-to-have optional extra for women giving birth – it is an essential part of high quality maternity care.
“Epidural analgesia remains the most effective form of pain relief for labour, and no woman should find herself denied this if she requests it – even if she is in the early stage of labour. Nice guidance is very clear on this.
“We urge the Health Secretary to ensure that access to the pain relief women need in labour is a key part of plans to improve maternity care in this country. Women deserve nothing less.”
Backing the call, Maria Booker, programmes director at Birthrights, said: “It is critical that all women can make informed choices about whether to have pain relief or not, and are able to access that pain relief in labour.”
One woman told The Telegraph: “There’s a cult of natural childbirth, which is pushing people to do it without pain relief.”
She added: “It ruined my first childbirth experience. I’m absolutely livid about it – it’s the birth of my first child. Why did they think they could overtake that and decide what was relevant and what wasn’t?”
Another woman said: “Something that was said repeatedly to me was, ‘It’s not called labour for nothing – it’s
meant to be hard work.’ I laugh about it now, but my husband can’t. He saw it all unfolding and he saw it happening to the person he loved.
“It affected him for quite a long time – and he’s from the Royal Navy and has been to Afghanistan. He can joke about that, but he won’t joke about my labours.”
Maternity campaigners are concerned that an emphasis on “natural childbirth” means that women have increasingly been refused pain relief.
In 2017, the Royal College of Nursing dropped a decade-long campaign for “normal birth” after saying the advice had left women who sought medical interventions feeling like failures.