Released on: 17 September 2013

A new report published in The Lancet suggests that one-to-one midwife care is just as safe and costs significantly less than current maternity care.

Chief Executive, NCT, Belinda Phipps said:

“We are delighted but not surprised  to see yet another report on the benefits of being cared for by the same midwife throughout your pregnancy and afterwards. Where mothers and new-borns receive one-to-one maternity care from day one they are better equipped to cope with the challenges in the months and years after birth.

“In the current system midwives are being overworked, maternity units are understaffed and, as a result, too many women in the UK are not being cared for in a way that is in keeping with the Department of Health’s aspirations for a patient-led National Health Service. A recent report by NCT and NFWI (Support Overdue: Women’s Experiences of Maternity Care) which looks at the current levels of support being given to new parents also highlights some key findings; a staggering 88% of women had not met any of the midwives who cared for them during labour and birth, before going into labour.

“NCT is calling on health professionals to take note of these results, and ensure that this kind of one to one care becomes the norm for every woman in the UK. There are significant cost savings for the NHS and social care budget as a whole if we can move from conveyor belt care to continuity of carer.”

The full report and executive summary of Support Overdue: women’s experiences of maternity care is available here www.nct.org.uk/supportoverdue 

 

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