Dear Professor Whitty & Mr. Matthew Hancock,
We are writing to express our concern over the continued restrictions and temporary policies in maternity care. Implemented during the initial outbreak of the Covid Pandemic, such restrictions were prudent but now, as lockdown eases and some NHS trusts are beginning to revert these rules, many others are continuing to restrict the rights of healthy pregnant women and birthing people for no apparent medical reason. We believe that the restrictions currently in place due to the Covid outbreak are not necessary, not based on scientific evidence, are disrespecting human rights and are not proportionate to achieve the objective of limiting the spread of the virus. Last month the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) decided, what felt like overnight, to effectively ban independent midwives from practising. I won’t go into all of the reasons why this is problematic in this blog post (for a great summary see Birthrights’ post here), but I’m sure you can imagine how worrying and unsettling it would feel to be a pregnant woman who had been planning on utilising the services of an independent midwife.
12/15/2016 Five tips for doulas to build teamWhen women come on my doula course, one of their main concerns is how they will be perceived by midwives and other medical staff when they work as birth doulas. I can honestly say, that in the years that I’ve been a birth doula, I have never had any problems with the midwives that I have come into contact with.
11/21/2014 Seminar at the House of CommonsYesterday I was invited to attend a seminar at the House of Commons (Portcullis House) organised by 1001 Critical Days and Foundation Years Information and Research as a joint programme: Seizing the day to improve the nurture of our youngest children. It was also a day in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of UNCRC (United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child).
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AuthorKicki Hansard is a member of Doula UK, however any opinions expressed on this blog are personal views and not necessarily the view of Doula UK. Archives
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8/26/2020