#eachoneofwomanborn. #born in the NHS.
We ask that this manifesto for maternity be shared and discussed by all maternity and NHS campaigners. We welcome discussion.
A manifesto for mothers and babies in the NHS
- Increase the maternity tariff. The existing maternity tariff, the money the government allocates for each birth does not pay for sufficient midwives for safe births, let alone for happy births
- Bring back bursaries for midwives and nurses
- Make full maternity care available to all mothers, no exceptions
- Ditch the sweet talking Maternity Review. No personal budgets. No loss of beds. We want a fully funded NHS maternity system, not a choice of private providers.
- Respect women’s choices in labour. Listen to the mother.
- Home birth, midwife unit or hospital birth, they all need to be in in the NHS with NHS staff fully supervised and in the training loop.
- Make obstetric care available in our local hospitals. No four hour journeys for women in labour.
- No pressure to give birth at home. Home birth must be a free choice, with full hospital back up available
- Full NHS insurance for all NHS home births. No handing over responsibility. No home births on the cheap.
- Give women more time with their midwives. More midwives per mother.
- No cuts in maternity beds
- No woman to be left alone in labour
- Help women with breast feeding. Mums need support after birth too. Breast feeding is far too low in UK, yet women want to breast feed for their babies.
- Support mums in the early days with baby.
- Invest in the start of life
- Support maternal mental health
- Train more paediatric doctors and nurses.
- Research reasons for premature birth
- Improve pediatic intensive care
- Staff our labour wards so no forced emergency closures. Plan staffing 8 months in advance. It’s kinda natural
- Nationalise the private maternity companies taking NHS contracts
- Fund research into still births, and birth injuries
- Improve procedures for induction of labour
- Fully fund neo natal intensive care
- Recruit more midwives, nurses and doctors,neo natal intensive care nurses and related staff.
- Ditch the STPs and their cuts
- Keep all our EU staff and make them very welcome
- Fund improved ambulance services and train all staff including dispatchers around birth issues.
- Fight maternal and child poverty
For our babies, for our mothers, for our sisters, for our lovers
Save Liverpool Women's Hospital 
I support this manifesto!
We have government that knows all about the understaffing and the problems it brings. Having done this to Midwifery before. They need to train staff and fully resource the support for mothers and babies before it is too late!
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Great. But even more important review all government subsidies so that there is NO financial incentive for mothers to abandon their infants to daycare centres and ‘return to work’. If government incentives are not totally equal to full-time, stay at home mothers and mothers who return to work and use childcare, nursery care, day care, then the one receiving more government money must be the one that research shows is the best option–that is full-time, stay at home mother care. this is also the option that international research shows is what mothers and fathers think is best and right.
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An interesting point.This raises many other linked issues.
Much welfare and housing support forces women with children into work even while babies are little
The third child legislation is dreadful.
With quality childcare and joint parental responsibility though we could support those working parents who choose to do so
There is also the issue of childcare duties left with grandparents who may not be well enough to help .
Also younger grandparents who themselves have to give up work
This is a whole other aspect.
Our campaign comes from defending NHS Maternity services.
Thankyou for this.
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I would add:
Respect women’s birth choices, including maternal request caesareans.
Thank you
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