A damning interim report from the national investigation into England’s maternity services, published on Thursday, has unearthed deep-rooted, systemic issues affecting women, babies, and their families across the NHS. The report, led by Lady Amos, details a pervasive culture of insensitivity from maternity staff, racism and discrimination, and chronic staff shortages, alongside alarming allegations of “cover-ups” and a lack of transparency from NHS trusts when mistakes occur.

The investigation was announced last June by then-health secretary Wes Streeting, prompted by a series of high-profile maternity failings. These included the five-year inquiry into Shrewsbury and Telford NHS trust, which concluded that hundreds of babies died or were left brain-damaged due to inadequate care. Other significant cases include Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust being fined £1.6m for failing to provide safe care to three babies who died, and the UK’s first inquiry into birth trauma finding women ignored and left with permanent damage or post-traumatic stress disorder. These incidents, combined with soaring costs from negligence lawsuits, highlighted an urgent need for systemic examination.

Lady Amos’s investigation, which involved a public call for evidence from over 8,000 people including staff and more than 400 family members, and expert panels, aims to establish national recommendations to improve maternity and neonatal care and safety. It specifically addresses persistent inequalities faced by women from ethnic minority and deprived backgrounds and includes local investigations into services at 12 NHS trusts. The full report and final recommendations are anticipated in the spring of this year.

The current state of maternity care in England reveals troubling statistics. The maternal death rate in the UK stands at 12.8 deaths per 100,000 maternities, a 20% increase since 2009-11 when the government aimed to halve the rate. Inspections by the Care Quality Commission found that over a third (36%) of NHS maternity services required improvement, while 12% were deemed inadequate. Ethnic and socioeconomic disparities are stark: Black women are three times more likely to die during childbirth than white women, and women from the most deprived areas are twice as likely to die compared to their more affluent counterparts. Rising older motherhood and obesity rates are also cited as factors complicating maternity care.

The interim findings reinforced allegations of inadequate staffing, which affects every stage of care. Mothers-to-be face long delays for assessments, planned C-sections, or induced labour. They may be denied home births due to lack of midwives or attend antenatal appointments too brief for meaningful discussion. Post-birth, mothers are often sent home without proper assessment and struggle to seek advice. Lady Amos concluded,