Hello
We at MNHQ have teamed up with a law firm, Leigh Day, to provide a free online clinic on maternal health rights. The clinic will run from today, and the Leigh Day maternal health team will be responding to questions from Monday. Please take a look below to see what kinds of questions they can take and to see how this will work. We hope you find this useful, and please do bear in mind that there will be experiences posted here which may be upsetting to read.
Thanks
MNHQ
Terms & Conditions – between Leigh Day and visitors to the clinic
Free online advice clinic
Leigh Day is delighted to be teaming up with Mumsnet to provide a free, online legal clinic, offering advice on healthcare and treatment issues during pregnancy, labour and childbirth. The advice will be provided by senior lawyers from our maternal health team, who act in cases where there has been a failure in treatment and injury to a mother and/or baby during labour and birth.
Many women are unsure of their rights particularly regarding consent in relation to antenatal, labour and postnatal care. The clinic will provide free advice and raise awareness of issues for women to consider when planning pregnancy and childbirth, or after the event.
We work with charities, such as Birthrights, MASIC, Group B Strep, and other organisations who, like us, are committed to offering choice and improving safety and care for mothers and babies.
The clinic will take the form of a 'Q&A' session on Mumsnet’s website, with members of the public posting questions on a dedicated public discussion thread. Our specialist solicitors will take necessary any additional detail via private messaging (username: LeighDayMaternalHealthTeam) before posting up answers and advice. This is to check for a conflict of interest.
The clinic will run for a week from Monday 4th November to Monday 11th November. We will do our best to provide all answers during the week but, at the latest, by the Friday of the following week. You can find information on where to go for more help once the clinic has ended here. You can find some advice on how to raise a concern with your doctor about your care or treatment here.
Please note that we can answer questions concerning consent and issues in childbirth, specifically in relation to maternal injuries such as:
- Perineal tears – third and fourth degree
- Injuries following caesarean sections
- Poor care during the antenatal period of your pregnancy. For example, from mismanagement of pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes
- Sepsis after childbirth
We can also advise on injuries or sub-standard care relating to your child, including:
- Cerebral palsy
- Birth asphyxia and brain injuries
- Fractures to the skull, legs, arm, shoulder and collarbone
- Failure to diagnose fetal abnormality
We also represent families at an inquest if there has been stillbirth or death of the baby after birth.
What to do if you’d like to post a question
- If you have a question about your rights in pregnancy or childbirth, please post it online during the week, providing as much information as possible, including if relevant a concise history. Remember that this is an online forum and can be viewed by the public – including any hospital or service provider. You can use the private message facility to disclose any information you would prefer to keep off the public forums.
- Please send your name and the name(s) of any relevant service providers by private message to: LeighDayMaternalHealthTeam so the information can be passed on to our maternal health lawyers. We cannot post a reply until you have sent this information by private message.
Terms and Conditions – please read
The advice provided to an individual poster is based only on the information provided by that poster. Advice on this thread is also particular to the individual who has asked for it and will be specific to that person’s situation and cannot be taken to relate to another individual’s situation or potential case. Mumsnet and Leigh Day accept no liability for any loss suffered as a result of an individual choosing to follow advice provided to another poster's question on the thread. Please take care if you choose to apply that advice to your own situation - it is recommended that you first take advice from one of the sources we have suggested here.
Leigh Day’s lawyers, all of whom are specialists in clinical negligence, particularly relating to injuries to mothers and babies during childbirth, will be providing free advice in respect of the clinic. Any personal information collected as a result of the clinic will be held by Leigh Day and will be deleted after 18 months. If you wish to make a complaint about the service you received, please see Leigh Day’s complaints policy here.
Edited by MNHQ to extend the clinic