LECTURES & SOCIAL EVENTS

Major changes are taking place in maternity care across the UK.  Over the last decades we have seen gradual changes as those getting pregnant have changed leading to increased rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and stillbirth. But changes in society have also meant that women have also become more educated with more access to high (and low) quality information with which to make their own decisions. These changes, combined with important legal developments, mean that women should be very much in charge of their own births. And yet, several maternity scandals and reports from the Care Quality Commission have shown that this cultural change has not always happened. Legal payouts are at a record high and in hospitals many maternity staff feel unsupported and victimised.

These factors have come together over the last 5 years in a perfect storm where maternal choice, coupled with fear and distrust in the system, have led to escalating levels of labour induction, caesarean section and ‘free birth’. A national conversation is needed into where maternity care in the UK is going.
 
How can we improve outcomes for women and their babies whilst at the same time providing safe, compassionate, empowering care? This lecture series, streamed live from the iconic Liverpool Medical Institution, will explore birth in the UK: current perspectives as well as visions for the future by leading maternity practitioners, campaigners and experts.