Birth Companions' Head of Policy, Kirsty Kitchen, has reflected in a new Community Care opinion piece on the rising number of women dying in pregnancy or shortly after birth who have involvement from social care, as seen in the latest MBRRACE-UK maternal deaths data.
"We are failing women who have their newborn babies removed: that needs to change"
We don’t fully understand what’s driving the marked and sustained increase in the number of women dying while known to social services, but the rise in the number of infants subject to care proceedings, and the increase in the number of hearings held with little or no notice in the days immediately following birth, are likely to be significant factors.
At Birth Companions we have always had a focus on supporting women who are at risk of, or experiencing separation from their baby. Their needs are largely absent from health and social care policy, and they struggle to access mental health support. Women are navigating one of the most traumatic experiences imaginable, alone.
Systems and services are failing women and their families and perpetuating intergenerational cycles of harm. Our Birth Charter, published in 2023, calls for the creation of a joint national health and social care pathway for women at risk of, or experiencing separation from their baby.
Our own services have been developed with the needs of women in contact with social care in mind. This includes our newest service, in Hackney, East London. The Izzy Project was co-designed with women with lived experience of social services assessment and removal during pregnancy and early motherhood, along with over 40 local stakeholders.
To discuss any of the issues mentioned in this story, please get in touch with [email protected].
