Former MP Theo Clarke, whose moving speech in the House of Commons went viral after she broke down recounting details of the birth of her daughter, has called on the government to prioritise front line maternity care.
Speaking on GB News, Theo Clarke said:
“During the last parliament, I had a baby and had a very traumatic birth. I had a 40-hour labour and ended up bleeding very heavily after delivery, having a postpartum haemorrhage, and I’m afraid, got rushed into emergency surgery.

“I spent nearly two hours awake on the operating table and to be honest, it was absolutely terrifying. I thought I was going to die. I thought I’d never see my daughter again. I thought my husband was going to be a single dad.

“Afterwards, when I came out, I remember being in this side room with my daughter, who I couldn’t pick up, and pressing the emergency buzzer for help. Someone came in and said, ‘Not my baby, not my problem’, and walked out and left me there.

“And it was really that experience that kind of opened my eyes to the lack of aftercare in this country for mothers, and that led me to start campaigning on improving maternity care across the UK.

“I chaired the birth trauma inquiry last year after so many mothers wrote to me after I gave my speech. I’ve included some of the news stories in the books; I think it’s so important to hear their testimony.

“Our headline recommendation last year was to have a national maternity improvement strategy, because we didn’t feel that NHS care was standardised across maternity.

“The previous Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had accepted that, he made an announcement about it in the House of Commons in response to my PMQ. But unfortunately, we’re now 10 months on to the new government and we’ve had no major announcements on the birth trauma inquiry recommendations by the health secretary.

“So I’m very much calling on the government today, one year on from our report, to implement those recommendations and to improve maternity care across this country.

“I took the time when [Wes Streeting] was the shadow health minister to meet with him in person and to go through the recommendations of the inquiry. We had a lot of warm words of support, but I think it’s now time for the government to take action. They’ve been in power now for many months, and I think families know what needs to be changed, and they’re now asking for the government to implement it.

“This government has to take action urgently now to improve care. Donna Ockenden wrote the forward to my book; she’s investigating the baby deaths and avoidable tragedies in a number of hospitals, and it’s time to act now for these families. We need to take action on improving maternity care.

“There was a very concerning report out from the Public Accounts Committee saying how the medical negligence budget has actually been increased. It’s crazy to think that we’re spending more money on compensation payouts on maternity than we are on the frontline services in maternity units themselves.

“This is something that the government needs to take a grip of. We want to have more midwives, obstetricians, anaesthetists on the frontline looking after mothers directly, and that means the government must be funding and prioritising maternity care.

“I’ve decided not to have another baby because of my very traumatic experience. I should say that my experience was particularly bad, and a lot of mothers should feel safe going into their maternity units.

“But unfortunately, we do know around 30,000 women every year are going on to develop PTSD who’ve had a traumatic birth. That’s why I also have a podcast called ‘breaking the taboo’ to be talking about this, because there seems to be such a stigma and a shame about issues with women’s health.

“I hope by me very publicly speaking about it in the chamber of the House of Commons, I hope to break that taboo about speaking about it, and encourage other mothers to feel less alone, that they can ask for help.

“Because this is something that’s happened to them, not because of them. And I hope that the government takes action to support those families.”