The Green Party has been criticized for claiming that childbirth should be treated as a “non-medical event” and for labeling life-saving caesarean sections as “risky” in its maternity policies.
Among his electoral promises, he states that “they will work to reduce the number of interventions in childbirth” and highlights the party’s concern about the drop in “natural” birth rates.
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 failure to intervene in childbirth can have “catastrophic consequences.”
It comes after the Greens’ bizarre plans for pharmacists to dispense crack, cocaine and GHB, a date rape drug, in a bid to combat the rising tide of addiction – a move experts say could lead to more drug abuse, rather than less.
The Green Party called cesarean sections “risky” in its policies, which doctors described as “archaic”
Patient safety experts and midwives have warned that evidence shows that no intervention in childbirth causes more harm
The Greens’ website yesterday it said: ‘The incidence of medical intervention in childbirth has increased in recent years, particularly the rate of caesarean sections, which are expensive and, when not medically necessary, risky.
‘We will work to reduce the number of interventions in childbirth and change the culture of the National Health Service so that birth is treated as a normal, non-medical event, in which mothers are empowered and in control.’
It also states that “all women should be entitled to the highest standards of care during pregnancy, childbirth and after childbirth” and goes on to suggest that women should have “appropriate” options.
The policy states: “We will ensure that women receive the information they need to make appropriate decisions about how they wish to give birth, and that they are offered a full range of options, including home birth and a variety of hospital birth styles.” . 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 families affected by poor maternity care.
He told MailOnline: “Whoever made the policy would do well to study the history of maternity services in this country and, in particular, speak to some of the families whose lives have been devastated as a consequence of previous national policy initiatives aimed at promote so-called “normal” or “natural” birth.
Mr Titcombe, whose son Joshua was one of several babies who died in what became known as the Morecambe Bay maternity scandal, stressed that “life-changing complications can occur very quickly” and that “maternal care safety is only possible when the emphasis is on anticipating problems,” which includes “intervening when necessary.
“Pressure from the top to reduce caesarean section rates or maternity care when one type of birth is considered superior to another can have catastrophic consequences for women, babies and families,” Mr Titcombe added.
Rebecca Matthews, an Oxford Brookes professor and psychology student, expressed her “disappointment” at the policy on social media.
She wrote on X: ‘Haven’t you read the reports of the recent maternity scandals? Lack of intervention contributes to many avoidable harms.”
He added: ‘(The policy) feels like an attack on bodily autonomy, we should be able to choose a caesarean birth. Recent evidence shows that planned cesarean sections are safer than planned vaginal birth.’
NHS anesthetist Gem or @summonsy in X also said she was “outraged” 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 currently leading an inquiry into poor maternity services in Nottingham, responded to Matthews’ post by suggesting the Green Party read her report.
She said: “I’m very happy to be able to talk about safe maternity care with anyone from any political party – the first point the Green Party should go to would be to read the Ockenden review reports on Shrewsbury and Telford.”
She added: ‘Surely everyone should understand safe maternity care? “It is a vital cross-party issue that affects women, babies and families across the country.”
In 2022 it was revealed that some 201 babies and nine mothers died unnecessarily over a two-decade period at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
Donna Ockenden, an experienced midwife currently leading an inquiry into poor maternity services in Nottingham, suggested the Green Party read her report.
In a landmark 250-page report headed by Ms Ockenden, researchers investigating the failures cited an obsession with “normal births”.
Women were encouraged to have vaginal births, often when a cesarean section would have been a safer option, to keep surgery rates low.
The 2015 Morecambe Bay report also referenced the dangers of focusing on natural or “normal” births.
It found that 11 babies and one mother suffered preventable deaths, ruling that a group of midwives overzealously pursued natural birth and that “led at times to inappropriate and unsafe care.”
Respected bodies have frequently promoted the idea of ”normal birth.”
But the Royal College of Midwives formally abandoned its “normal birth” campaign in 2017, after previously praising trusts for keeping caesarean section rates low.
In the wake of the Shrewsbury report, several women told how they felt pressured not to have a caesarean section.
One of them was MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who revealed in 2022 that she had been “told I was not going to have a caesarean section” during the difficult birth of her first child.
Recalling her experience, she told LBC that after her son was born she realized it was “ridiculous” not to have had the procedure and that it is “absolutely” what should have been done.
Trevelyan added that she was “very damaged” but fortunately her son was fine.
Cesarean births have been increasing for years in a trend that is partly explained by rising levels of obesity.
Some studies have found that being overweight during pregnancy increases the chances of needing the intervention.
Pregnant women in their 30s and 40s, who make up a growing proportion of mothers, are also more likely to require a cesarean section due to the increased likelihood of complications.