About all that news
Amanda Patterson-Crowley
There has been A LOT in the news recently. You may have watched the BBC Disclosure from Scotland about experiences of families and midwives in Scotland. You may have read the articles in newspapers about the mother who was killed from an overdose of Misoprostal (an induction drug), and wasn’t told - a story shared in the BBC Disclosure programme. In the UK, NHS maternity liability has reached £27.4billion, according to The Guardian, “The number of families taking legal action against the NHS for obstetrics errors rose to a record of nearly 1,400 a year in 2023, double the number in 2007, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.”
In this environment of growing complexity, more and more families are having to navigate challenging situations, really thinking about how they can save themselves, not only from devastating outcomes, but any form of birth trauma. This means, for people who choose to step into the role of a Doula, you need to be prepared - fact is, two day courses are not enough to learn to navigate supporting families in the maternity environment today.
We’ve been saying this for a while, the role of the Doula has changed, and continues to evolve. Ten years ago, a Doula may have only been hired for homebirths or freebirths. A Doula was mainly expected to fulfill the role of simply being with the person giving birth, sit quietly in the corner, perhaps knit a cute baby cardigan, and mainly witness birth. Now, Doulas need to have:
A strong understanding of the physiological process in order to advocate for the birthing person,
Reverence for the birth process, and a deep compassion for women and birthing people,
The strength and intelligence to advocate for their clients however and whenever it’s needed,
The skills needed to protect themselves, hold strong boundaries and find space to support themselves, so they can continue to support their clients,
The ability to practice with confidence, understand their worth and build their business with skill.
As the needs of families rise, as they are facing more trauma, more intervention and more systemic harm than ever before - Doulas need to be able to rise to meet these new challenges.
News stories that we’ve seen recently impact people's confidence in giving birth, and the maternity system that is meant to support them. Faced with these fears, families need someone powerful in their corner. It’s not fair that parents need to fear the system, that they have no confidence in the care they receive. Research around continuity of carer on positive birth experiences. One of the stories in BBC Disclosure talked about how because their “child was not born in business hours”, they faced delays for life supporting care, and ultimately their baby lost their life. Families are facing these systemic issues daily, and the impact is devastating. It’s natural that families are looking for reassurance, support and even avenues to birth outside of the system.
P.s
This news came from Channel 4 after I had written this blog. It tells the story of families harmed in the Oxford Hospitals Trust, a Trust already under investigation within the rapid national investigation launched in July 2025.