Grieving parents denounce ‘devastating’ conference promoting ‘normal birth’ ideology espoused by top NHS nurse

England’s finest nurse is supporting bereaved families who have expressed their concerns at a health conference promoting the “dangerous ideology” of “normal” births – just a few miles from the site of one of the UK’s worst pregnancy scandals.

Dame Ruth May told the parents that she would write to the organizers of the International Conference on Research on Normal Birth and Obstetrics, to be held in April in Grange Over Sands, Cumbria, to “express her concerns about the language they continue to use.”

Parents who have lost their children in the hospital due to pregnancy scandals have written to NHS chief nurse Dame Ruth urging her to speak out against a conference organized by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

Her grief is compounded by the fact that it takes place near the site of the Furness General Hospital (FGH) scandal, one of the worst pregnancy scandals in NHS history.

Next month will mark the eighth anniversary of the Morecambe Bay Inquiry report, which concluded that between 2004 and 2012, a “deadly mixture of errors” contributed to preventable maternal and infant deaths in hospitals.

It also marks the first anniversary of Okkenden’s final Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust’s deficiencies report, which found that 201 babies and nine mothers could have survived had the Trust provided better care.

The parents wrote: “A key theme emerging from the Morecambe Bay study was that motherhood concerns were strongly influenced by a small number of dominants, whose excessive desire for natural childbirth sometimes resulted in inadequate and insecure care.”

“The report quoted one midwife who, during her testimony, said: “There was a group of midwives who thought that a normal birth was … everything and everything … at any cost.

Following the Morecambe Bay Inquiry, similar problems were identified in other trusts, each of which found that the ideological drive for “normal birth” contributed to the deaths of infants and mothers.

The parents wrote: “The language and focus of this conference over the past few years has resulted in great suffering and trauma for families who may have experienced poor prenatal care (of which examples are clearly documented in major research reports) where care has been compromised by a focus on achieving a “normal birth” rather than a multidisciplinary team working together to prioritize a safe and healthy outcome.

“The suffering and trauma that this year’s event will cause will be even greater, given the added sense that the organizers clearly have no respect for the hurt feelings expressed. We wonder why this particular location was chosen.”

pregnancy scandals

Overview of Morecambe Bay

An investigation into the deaths of 11 babies and a mother at Furness General Hospital in Cumbria found that the midwives were so arrogant they were nicknamed “Musketeers”. The report says there is a growing movement among midwives for normal births “at any cost”. A study of hospital deaths in Barrow between 2004 and 2013 found that midwifery suffered from denial, collusion and incompetence.

Ockenden Review at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

An investigation into the deaths of hundreds of babies and mothers between 1998 and 2017 found that mothers were forced to give birth “normally”. The review showed that about 201 babies and nine mothers could have been saved if standards had been better.

Donna Okenden, the lead midwife who conducted the review, said: “With this trust, there was a multidisciplinary… focus on normal delivery at almost any cost. It is very clear … that there were times … when a child was born by caesarean section, the result could be better and almost certainly safer.

Exploring East Kent

Between 2009 and 2020, at least 45 children died needlessly due to poor quality care for more than a decade, according to a report from East Kent Hospitals. Although there was no policy among employees to promote “normal birth”, the report found that the way “normal birth” was spoken of and explained in maternal materials created an expectation that this was the ideal that employees and women alike aspired to.

“In some cases, this pressure of expectation appears to have contributed to staffing decisions not to escalate concerns or intervene, decisions that would otherwise be inexplicable,” the report says.

In his letter to his parents, seen IDame Ruth said no one from NHS England would be in attendance, telling parents she was “committed to improving maternal and newborn care and will continue to do so.”

The conference is not an NHS England event. However, at least one NHS Advisor is listed as a keynote speaker.

Dame Ruth said, “I hear your concerns about the conference and I understand and appreciate your opinion on the language used.”

She pointed to a letter from NHS England sent to trusts in April 2022 about their use of language to ensure women are supported to make informed decisions. “I will also write to the conference organizers to express my concerns about the language they continue to use,” she said.

The event was first held at the Grange Hotel in 2002 and is held there every two years. The conference is organized and held abroad every two years, each time in a different country.

James Titcombe, who pushed for an investigation into Morecambe Bay after his son Joshua died in 2008 as a result of a lack of care at FGH, said: ‘When there is so much evidence of damage, the campaign for a so-called ‘normal birth’ has generated general agreement. in the pregnancy safety community that we have to say goodbye to this language and approach, it is more than appalling that the University of Central Lancashire is once again hosting this disruptive and divisive event on the doorstep of Morecambe Bay.

Emily Barley, whose daughter Beatrice died in childbirth at Barnsley Hospital in May 2022, said: “If we had had a C-section when we needed it, my daughter would still be alive. Instead, like hundreds of other babies in the UK each year, Beatrice died because so-called “normal births” were given priority. This pernicious program should have no place in health care.

“The families of the victims who signed this letter did so because they see a direct connection between the messages of this conference and the careless care that led to the death of their babies. The conference had a huge impact on the spread of the so-called “normal birth” ideology in the UK.”

A spokesman for UCLan said: “Our deepest sympathies go out to the parents and families whose children have died: this is an unimaginable loss and we deeply sympathize with them. Maternity protection is a complex issue and we would like to meet with some of the signatories of this letter to discuss and better understand their concerns.”

Dr. Bill Kirkup, who led both the original study in Morecombe Bay and the recent study in East Kent’s miscarriage district, will be the first keynote speaker.

The spokesperson said: “Normal delivery and childbirth is an internationally recognized term. This term is actually used in current NICE guidelines. However, we acknowledge the debate in the UK over this terminology and one of our keynote speakers will address this issue from the perspective of a recent report from the Royal College of Midwives.

“While the data show that for healthy women and infants who choose this option, physiological birth and delivery are more likely to lead to positive outcomes for mother and child, maternal and child safety must certainly be at the center of all decisions.

“That’s why conferences like this are so important to share lessons: if we can’t reliably understand and support physiological labor and delivery, we won’t be able to identify, understand, and effectively respond to labor that goes badly.”

“Therefore, conducting, sharing and disseminating research in this area is vital to protecting the safety and well-being of all women and children.”