Babies and parents at risk from missing maternity care basics, MPs told
Deep cracks in pregnancy and paediatric care were laid bare at the All Party Parliamentary Group for Baby Loss in Parliament last week.
From severe staff shortages in paediatric pathology and bereavement support, to babies at unnecessary risk from inconsistencies in basic growth monitoring, vast improvements are needed throughout NHS maternity care.
I attended the meeting in my capacity as a specialist women’s health medical negligence lawyer, and heard from panellists, clinicians, charities and parents, on extremely important topics and updates.
The APPG was chaired by Andy MacNae MP, who has been a long-term advocate for tackling preventable baby loss. Having had personal experience, Mr MacNae’s passion for this APPG was apparent during the meeting, which was also attended by MPs Lizzi Collinge and Bobby Dean .
Consultations and calls for evidence
Mr MacNae began by providing an update on the National Rapid Investigation into maternal and neonatal services chaired by Baroness Amos. An initial findings report is due in February, but before then, a further call for evidence will take place in January 2026.
With an emphasis on maintaining trust from the families who have suffered harm, we were assured a taskforce will be set up to ensure recommendations from the investigation are acted upon.
We were also reminded that the bereavement leave consultation is still open to receive responses until January 2026.
The Hillsborough Law
The Accountability Bill, or Hillsborough Law, was also mentioned, having been introduced to Parliament in September 2025. This law puts a legal duty of candour on all public bodies enforceable by criminal sanctions. The law seeks to shift the legal risk to ensure transparency instead of cover up.
Plans for 2026
Mr MacNae updated us all on plans for 2026. Men’s mental health will be an important area to tackle, with a dedicated strategy and appropriate recognition and action plan.
There will also be reform in the General Medical Council (GMC) and appropriate consideration of reform within the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). There must be accountability within every profession, and this is very difficult if there is no effective regulation.
It was acknowledged that these processes take time but there is likely to be progress next year in the form of secondary legislation.
UK paediatric pathology in crisis
Dr Clare Evans, a consultant in prenatal, perinatal and paediatric pathology, and chair of the specialist advisory committee, updated us on the crisis within the workforce nationwide.
Prenatal, perinatal and paediatric pathologists specialise in diagnosing diseases in pregnancy, post partum and in children. They also carry out postmortem examinations.
There are huge staffing shortages in this speciality nationwide. Many of the existing consultants are due for retirement and there are not enough suitably-trained doctors coming up through the ranks to fill the vacancies.
There are many collapsed departments up and down the country, with no paediatric pathologists in several areas including Birmingham and Bristol. There are no paediatric pathologists at all in Northern Ireland.
The impact of the shortages is significant. There are huge backlogs for the pathologists with far too much work to do and this can have an impact on disease detection.
It also has consequences for paediatric postmortem examinations. Babies often must be sent away, in some cases many miles away to different trusts, which is very distressing for families.
There are delays in postmortem reports, and for some families delays in finding the cause of their baby’s death cause complications in their capacity to move forward and plan future pregnancies. We heard how there are families currently waiting more than eight months for postmortem reports.
Recruitment into this area is proving extremely difficult. There are issues identified from as early as medical school with nothing about paediatric pathology appearing in the curriculum until the second year of specialist histopathology training. There are other significant barriers to recruitment including budgets, Brexit and there simply not being enough pathologists in the NHS.
There are plans to provide pathways for advanced practitioners in pathology to be able to review placentas and other tissues, to lessen the workload for the few paediatric pathologists who remain.
But this issue has been of concern for many years, and there does not seem to be a ready solution available.
Campaign for Gigi – safe sleeping in nursery settings
We heard from Katie Wheeler, the mother of Gigi, a little girl who was tragically killed at a nursery when unsafe sleeping practices caused her to suffocate during her nap. Katie, together with the Lullaby Trust, is calling for statutory requirements for safer sleep at early years providers, stronger Ofsted inspection processes, and a review of CCTV usage in early years settings.
Most parents have to return to work after having children and for the vast majority that will mean children and babies must attend childminders, nurseries or other early years settings. Gigi’s death should have been avoided and the steps being called for would create a safer environment for all children being cared for by early years providers. Find out more here.
Growth charts
Midwife Emily Butler and Heidi Eldridge, Founder and CEO of MAMA Academy spoke about early detection of small babies by using growth charts. Correct use of growth charts can lead to early detection of problems with growth and how well the placenta is functioning, which can lead to early delivery and thereby avoid stillbirth.
However, there are several different systems in place to plot growth during pregnancy and there are inconsistencies within these charts. There is no standard approach across the NHS and budget cuts have led to the use of free tools, but research confirms some of the systems are causing errors which can be catastrophic for mothers and unborn babies.
There are calls for growth charts to be standardised across the board with clear guidance and monitoring.
Racial inequality – cultural education
Racial inequality in maternity care remains a significant problem in the NHS.
Keelie Grindley, lead midwife for equality diversity and inclusion at the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust and founder of Nya Birth Collective, gave her thoughts on steps needed to provide equitable maternity care.
At the heart of the change is education and decolonising the medical curriculum. There remains significant cultural bias, which is amplified with language barriers.
Keelie petitioned for mandatory and often uncomfortable training to challenge bias and provide cultural education for everyone in the NHS.
Bereavement support
We finally heard from Racheal Crane about her role as a bereavement specialist in James Paget University Hospital in Great Yarmouth.
Racheal supports families in hospital after baby loss and explained how vital this service is. Midwives often do not have the specialist training needed to offer bereavement support, neither do they have the time to sit with grieving families while they are also responsible for labouring mothers.
Racheal campaigns for dedicated bereavement specialists nationwide. There should be one in every hospital with a maternity unit, she says. As things currently stand, it is a postcode lottery.
Rachael revealed funding for her position has not been renewed, leaving families to face unimaginable loss without dedicated support. Funding appears to be the biggest obstacle yet again.
BBK Manifesto
At BBK we are dedicated to the fight to address birth trauma and baby loss.
In our Manifesto for Injured People, we call for immediate improvements to fight to end health inequality. The evidence is clear: Black women remain twice as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes. Change cannot wait.
The problems within our maternity systems are well documented in numerous reports over many years, yet little action has taken place to create change.
However, there is an opportunity for real change to flow following the nationwide review by Baroness Amos and the subsequent taskforce. This opportunity must be seized with both hands to prevent future avoidable deaths and injuries to mothers and babies.
We also recognise and support the implementation of a culture of learning in the NHS.
A safer NHS depends on honesty when things go wrong. Patients, families and staff need to view incidents of negligence as a chance for the NHS to learn, rather than something to be hidden. I hope the Hillsborough Law will make that shift and force transparency.
If you, your child or relative have suffered an injury during birth please do not hesitate to reach out to our women’s health team for a free no-obligation, strictly confidential chat.
