The maternity care crisis is devastating women, one at a time.
by Jo Cruse |
Updated on19th December 2024 at 4.22pm
It was the week after giving birth to my daughter that I first started seeing insects crawling out of my bedroom wall. My brain and body were in trauma mode, after a birth that left me physically and mentally broken, with sparse aftercare that included a missed infection in my stitches. My daughter was safe and, in my post-birth haze, that was all that mattered to me. It was much later that I developed suspected post traumatic stress disorder and the injuries I’d sustained received treatment. And yet, I still feel like I am one of the lucky ones. I left the hospital with a healthy baby – when I know so many do not. That feeling of being lucky is one of the many reasons so many mothers do not speak up about our experience. Society also tells us giving birth is hard, that that’s the way it is. What I went through is now all too common, but it shouldn’t be considered normal. It was agonising and dangerous. After a terrifying experience I was left alone, with a seriously injured body and a newborn baby. I had been made to feel entirely expendable, like no cost to my body was too great. As I held my little girl that first night in the maternity unit, I couldn’t escape the image of what had unfolded in a room down the corridor a few hours earlier - as I had begged, almost unconscious with pain, for help. I began motherhood acutely sleep deprived from a multi-day labour, and I wouldn’t sleep again, not for a long time. My birth gave me my beautiful daughter but it took away my dignity. Since I’ve shared my story I’ve learnt I’m not alone. So many mothers have their own story, or it’s a friend who was ignored, a partner scared and powerless, a sister left in pain. Too many of these stories stay whispered in private or shared on late Whatsapps during the night feed. We rarely share them in public. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said the state of our maternity care keeps him awake at night. He joins thousands of mothers suffering in silence and not sleeping at night. And yet there is no turnaround plan. Just inquiry, after devastating inquiry, of failing maternity units. That’s why I’ve started Delivering Better – we are a grassroots group of mothers, birthing people, midwives and allies, birthing people, midwives and allies raising our voices for maternity care that is safe, compassionate and evidence based. Care that begins during pregnancy, continues to support mothers after birth, and helps families thrive. We’re supported by midwives across the country who also desperately want to see change for the mothers they care for. We raise our voices alongside groups like Five X More who have been leading the way in speaking up for Black Women who are almost three times more likely to die during pregnancy or up to six weeks after compared with white women. We need action, not just promises of change. It could start with women being able to see the same midwife throughout pregnancy and birth, something that used to be standard but is becoming rarer. And GPs proactively contacting new mums at three and six months for a physical and mental health check-in by text - a simple intervention but pilot results suggest one with real promise in flagging problems early. A check-in in that is focused on making sure they are recovered from birth and listening to their needs. These are just first steps, but over 80 per cent of mothers say they would make a big difference - and they would send a message that mothers are being listened to and cared for, alongside their newborns, as are the midwives endeavouring to care for them. The day that I watched as insects covered the walls around me remember seeing my bedroom walls covered with insects was also the day members of our family came to meet our little girl for the first time. I remember telling myself I had to get it together, ignore the creatures coming out of the walls and go downstairs. I needed to smile and show I was a good mum and play the role as best I could. It’s what so many women do, we pull ourselves together and carry on as best we can. But it shouldn’t be this way. We deserve better. Jo Cruse is founder of Delivering Better: https://deliveringbetter.org/
Yet when asked, 1 in 4 mothers say they had a negative birth experience. And the impacts are lasting. 1 in 7 mothers with a negative experience say it has long term mental health impacts. It also affects relationships, ability to work and even people’s desire to have more children. Midwives also speak of how much more they want to do for the women in their care but the resources are stretched thin. There is a crisis in our maternity services, and it’s getting worse.
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English (US) ·