I believe in a future where women know and trust their midwife, have unhurried appointments, at their own convenience, in the privacy of their own home. A midwife who is on call and available to attend her in labour. Not only does this model improve women's experience it also has effects on the outcome of labour. Increasing the rates of vaginal birth, reducing the length of labour, the need for interventions and pain relief (Hodnet.et al 2012).
Every year thousands of women make this choice and vote with their feet, paying for care from a midwife they know and trust, yet this choice is about to be permanently removed. There are over 200 midwives working this way currently. Some in fledgling organisations but the majority are self employed. In the UK this year Midwives will become one of the very few professions that can no longer be self-employed. This is not because of safety or regulation; this is because of a European directive that has brought a change in the law. We need the government to support Independent Midwives, and this is within their power, but they need to hear from women that this is a choice that they want to remain.
I would very much like Mums net to take up the campaign to protect choice in the UK for pregnant women by taking up the campaign to support independent midwifery.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23076901
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
For more information on Mumsnet Campaigns, check our our Campaigns hub.
Mumsnet campaigns
Saving choice for pregnant women
48 replies
lizzybeltane · 04/02/2014 16:42
OP posts:
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.