The Green Party has come under fire for claiming childbirth should be treated as a ‘non-medical event’ and calling life-saving caesareans ‘risky’ in its maternity policies.
Among its election pledges, it claims they will ‘work to reduce the number of interventions in childbirth’ and highlights the party’s concern over the falling rates of ‘natural’ births.
The proposals, which have now been removed from the party’s website but are still circulating on social media, have been branded ‘archaic’ and ‘disappointing’ by doctors.
Meanwhile patient safety experts have warned that a lack of intervention in childbirth can have ‘catastrophic consequences’.
It comes after the Greens’ bizarre plans to have crack cocaine and date rape drug GHB dispensed by pharmacists in a bid to fight the rising tide of addiction — a move that experts said could lead to more drug abuse, rather than less.
The Green Party called C-sections ‘risky’ in its policies which have been called ‘archaic’ by medics
Patient safety experts and midwives have warned that evidence shows lack of intervention in childbirth causes more harm
The Greens’ website yesterday read: ‘The incidence of medical intervention in childbirth has escalated in recent years, particularly the rate of caesarean sections, which are expensive and, when not medically required, risky.
‘We will work to reduce the number of interventions in childbirth, and change the culture of the NHS so that birth is treated as a normal and non-medical event, in which mothers are empowered and able to be in control.’
It also states that ‘all women should be entitled to the highest standards of care during pregnancy and birth, and postnatally’ and goes on to suggest women should be given ‘appropriate’ choices.
The policy states: ‘We will ensure that women are given the information they need to make appropriate choices about how they wish to give birth, and that a full range of options, including home birth and a range of styles of hospital delivery, is made available to all women.’
Patient safety advocate and campaigner James Titcombe said he was ‘shocked’ to read the document and suggested the party speak to the families affected by poor maternity care.
He told MailOnline: ‘Whomever drew up the policy would do well to study the history of maternity services in this country and in particular, speak to some of families whose lives have been devastated as a consequence of previous national policy initiatives aimed at promoting so called “normal” or “natural” birth.’
Mr Titcombe, whose son Joshua was one of several babies who died in what would become known as the Morecambe Bay maternity scandal, stressed that ‘life changing complications can occur very quickly’ and ‘safe maternity care is only possible when there is an emphasis on anticipating problems’, which includes ‘intervening where necessary’.
‘Top down pressure to reduce C-section rates or maternity care where one type of delivery is seen as superior to another can lead to catastrophic consequences for women, babies and families,’ Mr Titcombe added.
Rebecca Matthews, an Oxford Brookes lecturer and psychology student, expressed her ‘disappointment’ to the policy on social media.
She wrote on X: ‘Have you not read the reports from recent maternity scandals. Lack of intervention contributes to so much preventable harm’.
She added: ‘[The policy] feels like an attack on bodily autonomy, we should be able to choose a caesarean birth. Recent evidence shows that planned caesareans are safer than planned vaginal birth.’
NHS anesthetist, Gem or @summonsy on X, also said she was ‘incensed’, when she saw the policy.
She said: ‘It’s actually a very archaic position for a party that claims to be progressive.’
Donna Ockenden, an experienced midwife who is currently leading an investigation into poor maternity services in Nottingham, responded to Ms Matthews post suggesting the Green Party read her report.
She said: ‘I’m very happy to discuss safe maternity care with anyone from any political party: first point of call for the Green Party would be to read the Ockenden review reports into Shrewsbury and Telford.’
She added: ‘Safe maternity care surely needs to be understood by everyone? It’s a vital cross party issue affecting women, babies and families across the whole of the country.’
Some 201 babies and nine mothers died needlessly during a two-decade spell at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, it was revealed in 2022.
Donna Ockenden, an experienced midwife who is currently leading an investigation into poor maternity services in Nottingham, suggested the Green Party read her report
In a landmark 250-page report spearheaded by Ms Ockenden, investigators who probed the failures cited an obsession with ‘normal births’.
Women were encouraged to have vaginal deliveries, often when a caesarean would have been a safer option, to keep surgery rates low.
The 2015 Morecambe Bay also referenced the dangers of fixating on natural or ‘normal’ births.
It found 11 babies and one mother suffered avoidable deaths, ruled a group of midwives overzealously pursued natural childbirth and that ‘led at times to inappropriate and unsafe care’.
The idea of a ‘normal birth’ has been frequently promoted by respected bodies.
But the Royal College of Midwives formally abandoned its ‘normal birth’ campaign in 2017, after previously praising trusts for keeping caesarean rates low.
In the wake of the Shrewsbury report, multiple women told how they felt pressured into not having a caesarean.
One of these was the MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who revealed in 2022 she had been ‘told I wasn’t going to have a caesarean section’ during the difficult birth of her first child.
Recalling her experience, she told LBC that after the birth of her son she realised it was ‘ridiculous’ she didn’t have the procedure and that’s ‘absolutely’ what she should have had.
Ms Trevelyan added she was left ‘very damaged’ but fortunately her son was fine.
Caesarean births have been on the rise for years in a trend partly explained by increasing obesity levels.
Some studies have found being overweight in pregnancy increases the chances of needing the intervention.
Pregnant women in their late 30s and 40s, who are an increasing proportion of mothers, are also more likely to need a C-section due to the increased likelihood of complications.
Source: Mail Online
