Independant Midwives

Independent Midwives


Well, the Government has done it again. Alan Johnson has made a futile and quite frankly condescending and insulting attempt in order to tempt midwives back into the profession by offering them £1500, plus the same amount in childcare, training days and travel.

What a joke and how sad that women feel that they have to resort to the care from Independent Midwives in order to receive the kind of that they want and are entitled to (Pelling, Daily Telegraph). But the sad reality is that the system is NOT providing the high level of skilled midwifery care that women have a right to.

They have this right because, pregnancy and child birth are fundamentally, normal, life changing events and if managed correctly, sensitively and safely, then women and babies should emerge from this journey relatively unscathed and hopefully as healthy as they were before the pregnancy (unless, of course there is any underlying previous medical or obstetric problem).

Pregnancy and childbirth is the pivot on which the future health of the nation and future generations hang. Surely, it would be better house-keeping for want of a better word, for the government to spend extra money on resources now and prevent billions in litigation costs and costs related to morbidity acquired during the pregnancy process?

The irony of all this is, is the fact that Independent midwives as ‘lovely’ and caring as they may be, will soon be in the same position as NHS midwives – overstretched and unsupported and thus begins the vicious circle all over again.