Author of England maternity care review ‘listened to wrong voices’, says adviser
Summary
An expert adviser, Dr. Bill Kirkup, resigned from a government review of maternity care in England after a section warning about risks linked to promoting vaginal birth was removed from the final report. He said the head of the review, Valerie Amos, ignored concerns about patient safety, leading him to step down shortly before publication.Key Facts
- Dr. Bill Kirkup was one of 12 expert advisers on a nine-month inquiry into maternity care in England.
- Kirkup resigned because a section warning about the risks of “normal birth ideology” was removed from the final report.
- “Normal birth ideology” promotes vaginal births without medical interventions like caesarean sections or forceps.
- The removed section had been approved by many advisers but was taken out eight days before the report was published.
- Kirkup says ignoring this issue poses a safety risk for mothers and babies.
- Valerie Amos led the review but did not publicly respond to Kirkup’s claims.
- The report concluded that the ideology was not widespread in the NHS trusts visited.
- Colleagues and groups like the Royal College of Midwives have shifted their stance on encouraging normal births.
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