Bill Kirkup tells the BBC that criticism of “normal birth” being pushed by maternity services was removed from Amos report just 8 days before publication. This is unbelievable. Kirkup says Amos was listening to the “wrong voices” on this issue. He told the BBC that "a significant number of people" had signed off a version of the report that included criticism of normal birth but that eight days before its publication, "it disappeared." Given the evidence, Kirkup felt he had to resign. "We ought to acknowledge that this is a problem, and that it's got patient safety implications for mothers and babies," he said. "I think it needs daylight shining on it and then we can have a proper conversation about why this sometimes happens and how we make sure that it doesn't keep on happening." Kirkup said he wouldn't discuss how the changes had occurred but that "I think she [Baroness Amos] has listened to the wrong voices on this particular issue."

NEW: Criticism of ‘normal birth’ was removed from the final Amos report just 8 days before publication. Dr Bill Kirkup says the review had found evidence that the approach was a problem in some areas but that the criticism then “disappeared” bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3ey…

The Government’s newly appointed National Maternity Adviser, Michelle Welsh MP, has said there “needs to be a review of the regulatory bodies” who are part of the maternity system: the General Medical Council (GMC), the Nursing and midwifery Council (NMC), and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Speaking in a personal capacity, Welsh said the system was “not working”. Delivering a powerful, passionate and highly personal keynote speech at the @mjauk conference on 17 June - The State of Maternity: Safety, Inequality and Culture - Welsh confirmed she was also “in conversation” with the Department of Health and Social Care about the possibility of a statutory public inquiry into maternity care. Asked what she felt about the idea of a public inquiry, Welsh said she wanted to first read Donna Ockenden’s recommendations from her four-year investigation into maternity care in Nottingham (to which Welsh has contributed her own personal traumatic experience of giving birth in the city). “I think it's my duty to go back to families, back to those working on the frontline, and say these are some of the recommendations…do you still think we need a public inquiry?” But she added: “What I will say is, there's a gap, and that gap is that the Donna Ockenden inquiry could not legally make people talk… And I feel that's the gap where the public inquiry may come.” Responding to my question on how Donna Ockenden’s Nottingham report (published 24 June) would interact with Baroness Amos’ national maternity investigation findings (published 30 June), Welsh said it was her understanding that after both reports had been published, “We'll go to Secretary of State… to the Department of Health, and we'll go straight for a very, very urgent meeting with the National taskforce.” One report would not be prioritised over another, she said. Although there would be things in the Nottingham inquiry report that were unique to Nottingham, there were also things “that echo what is happening across the country, and it's shocking, truly, truly shocking.” It would be in relation to some of the details coming out of Ockenden that she thought “the argument for the public inquiry will really gain momentum”. Welsh also set out her seven-point “ambitious” vision for maternity, that she was determined to achieve: 1) A national maternity commissioner: “an independent figure with real statutory powers. Someone able to access national data, someone able to intervene when warning signs appear, someone able to step in when babies' deaths increase, someone who cannot be ignored.” 2) National mandatory reporting. “One national framework, one set of measures… and when data shows danger, it must trigger a mandatory response.” 3) A culture where speaking up is protected. 4) Safer staffing. 5) Continuity of care. Every woman should have a named lead professional. 6) Every woman must be offered a birth debrief. 7) Accountability. “The truth is that maternity reform is actually not about politics,” Welsh concluded. “Babies do not care about political parties, we families do not care about political parties... This is about humanity, and that's why I also believe the government must ringfence funding for maternity.”

EXCL: The Green Party plans to ditch its previous policy promoting “normal” births and seeking to reduce the rate of Caesarean sections. The party understands it is “way out of tune” with safe, evidence-based maternity care. newstatesman.com/politics/uk…