According to a former member of the investigative team, the review of maternity protection in England was changed days before publication to remove criticism of the ‘normal birth drive’.
Other reviews have found that the campaign, which encourages vaginal birth without any medical intervention and is supported by many midwives, contributed to avoidable deaths and harms.
But Dr Bill Kirkup told the BBC that a government-appointed review had ignored similar criticism, forcing him to resign.
“I don’t think it’s right that we should keep these findings hidden,” he said. “It’s a threat to patient safety and I think it should be called that.”
natural birth ideology had not emerged as a major theme.
When the review was published, Baroness Amos told the BBC that natural birth ideology had not emerged as a major theme in her investigation.
“In England, we have one of the highest caesarean section rates in the world, so there were some instances where families talked to us about a sense of being guided towards a normal birth, but it was by no means something that came across strongly,” she said.
Asked to respond to Kirkup’s comments, Baroness Amos declined to comment further.
On Tuesday, the National Maternal and Newborn Screening Report was published.
Examining care across England, it found that maternity services frequently ignored women’s concerns.
Ministers have accepted one of its key recommendations – that the government appoint a maternity commissioner to drive reform.
However, many campaigners were surprised that the review concluded the “normal” birth agenda did not contribute to poor maternal outcomes.
Between 2007 and 2017, the Royal College of Midwives asked its members to encourage women to deliver vaginally without any medical intervention, such as pharmaceutical painkillers or forceps.
It was argued that such birth was better for women and babies. But its practice – which sometimes encourages women to stay home if they need medical care or refuse a Caesarean section – has been criticised in several reviews for contributing to avoidable deaths and harms.
Writing last year, former Health Secretary Sir Jeremy Hunt said that “the language and the thinking behind it are still alive.”
Dr Kirkup chaired the maternity review in Morecambe Bay and East Kent and found the practice caused harm in both areas. For example, their investigation in Morecambe Bay found that midwives were performing normal deliveries “at any cost”.
Investigators working for the Amos review found evidence that “it was still an issue, at least in some places,” he said.
He told the BBC that “a large number of people” had signed a version of the report that included criticism of normal birth but eight days before its publication, “it disappeared.”
Given the evidence, Kirkup felt he would have to resign. “We must acknowledge that this is a problem and that it has implications for patient safety for mothers and babies,” she said.
“I think the light of day needs to be shone on this issue and then we can have a proper conversation about why such incidents happen sometimes and how we make sure it doesn’t keep happening.”
Kirkup said he would not discuss how the changes occurred, but “I think she [Baroness Amos] has been misled on this particular issue.”
