Released on: 19 September 2011

Elizabeth Duff, Senior Policy Adviser at NCT, the UK’s largest charity for parents, said:

“The Welsh Government’s plan to reform maternity services in Wales is a significant opportunity. In the past, Wales has demonstrated some excellent practice – notably a thriving home birth service in rural areas – but also suffered from variable standards of care with some excessively high intervention rates.

“NCT strongly supports Lesley Griffiths’ call for equitable services for all women, and for maternity care to extend beyond the health service into schools, social services and the voluntary sector. We will also welcome the use of indicators to measure the effectiveness of this reform.

“In particular, NCT has urged that the Welsh Government should consider enabling robust cross-disciplinary local networks for maternity and early years services.

“The new service will require enough midwives in place, both immediately and in the future, to deliver to all families in Wales. Education of sufficient numbers of midwives is a priority.

“NCT also welcomes the reference to the role of voluntary organisations in delivering aspects of the strategy and looks forward to being involved in this important work.”

Courses & workshops

In-person NCT Antenatal course

Find out more

NCT Antenatal refresher course

Find out more
NCT Membership
Support NCT Charity by becoming a member
Excited couple holding pregnancy test
Sign up to our weekly Pregnancy & Baby Guide