A new national plan tackling maternity care in the United Kingdom proposes that pregnant women receive a £3,000-budget ($4,200) from the National Health Service (NHS) which would allow them to choose how and where to give birth, as well as appoint their own midwife.
The blueprint will be launched Tuesday this week, and officials expect that it will give women more control over the type of birth and where: in a midwife-run unit, at home or in a hospital. This may lead to a possible increase in numbers of women who labor at home, women who choose water-births, and women who opt for complementary therapies such as self-hypnosis or acupuncture.
Soon-to-be mothers may choose a health care provider who guarantees permanence of care from the same midwife throughout the prenatal, childbirth, and postnatal stages. They would also be able to choose a hospital closer to their workplace for routine check-ups and scans, as well as a hospital near their home for childbirth.
The proponents of the National Maternity Review [PDF] compared the plan to personal health budgets where people with long-term disabilities and conditions have a say over how much NHS funding is spent on them. The independent review was led by Baroness Julia Cumberlege and was commissioned by NHS England.
Prioritizing Safety For Women And Newborn Babies
The NHS recognizes that maternity services in the country are not as safe as they could be, or that they do not provide women with the best possible experience of giving birth. The scheme is prompted by an inquiry into the flawed maternity unit at Furness hospital, where a March 2015 report discovered that maternity care failures may have played a role in the tragic deaths of three mothers and 16 babies.
However, charities have expressed concern that the new national plan may put pressure on pregnant women to choose the cheapest type of birth instead of the safest.
Some have also criticized the personal health budgets to being susceptible to abuse, with alleged reports of people using their NHS funding to buy computer consoles or purchase holiday trips.
With that, the authors of the maternity review said only accredited providers would be eligible under the new scheme.
NHS officials said the review aims to make sure that maternity services get the most funding, driving out those that had been hampered by poor care.
Stillbirth rates in Britain are almost as worst as in Western Europe. Statistics show that four babies per 1,000 are stillborn or die in the first week after birth. In other areas of England, the number rises to 10 babies per thousand.
The NHS allocates £1 billion ($1.4 billion) annually in compensation to families of babies who died or suffered severe brain injuries due to blunders in childbirth.
"For the vast majority of women, giving birth and having a new member of the family is a really joyous occasion. But where things go wrong, it is devastating. It is a tragedy. It scars people for life," said Lady Cumberlege.
Aid Women, Babies And Families
The authors of the review hopes that it would encourage groups of midwives to set up new maternity centers and offer births in more homely settings or at home.
Nearly half of pregnant women prefer to give birth in a midwife-led unit attached to a hospital, but only less than 10 percent do so. One quarter of pregnant women meanwhile want to give birth at home. Only 2 percent achieve this.
Lady Cumberlege said women were often left to suffer overwhelming failings when they should be celebrating, and so the maternity review also focuses on addressing mental health after birth. She said the country needs to put women, babies and families at the center of care.
"It is so important that they are supported through what can be a wonderful and life-changing experience," said Lady Cumberlege.
The baroness said she wants real progress made within the next half-decade.
"In five years' time we will be among the best in the world," added Cumberlege.
Photo : Meagan Jean | Flickr
