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How are we using human rights to unlock safe maternity care and improve birth outcomes?

How are we achieving our vision of a world where women and birthing people can access safe maternity care that fully respects their right to bodily autonomy and self-agency, free from discrimination, coercion and violence? 

Here’s an overview of our impact in the 12 months between April 2024 and March 2025:

• We equipped people with information and advice to advocate for their rights and navigate maternity systems. We supported 599 people through our personalised email service. They told us we had helped them feel heard, respected, and more in control of their care, with more confidence to make informed choices and complain when they needed to. In surveys: 
• More than half of respondents told us our help had resolved their issue(s) 
• More than half said the hospital or Trust changed its decision as a result of self-advocacy following our advice and support 
• “I received confirmation from the hospital that, due to my history, I could receive a private room instead of being placed on the ward setting. I would not have felt confident to ask for this without the support of Birthrights. I now get to enjoy these remaining few months of my pregnancy, safe in the knowledge that my post-birth experience won’t be a repeat of last time” 

• We increased awareness and understanding amongst health care professionals of how the law applies to maternity care and why it is so important. We delivered 93 expert training sessions, reaching 541 maternity professionals across 42 NHS Trusts.  Every session was co-led by two expert trainers, one with a legal background (often a practising lawyer) and one with a healthcare background (often a practising midwife). We are the only organisation providing this information nationally without ideology/judgement and solely focused on rights. In post-training surveys, 98% of attendees said they would recommend Birthrights’ training to others, and – most importantly – 89% said the training would impact their practice going forward. 
• “Fantastic workshop today—great trainers who have sparked a reflection on my own practice, the environment, and the team I work with.” 

We held institutions to account and used the law to stop illegal practices. Case Study: we were contacted by a newly appointed Consultant Midwife who raised concerns regarding their Trust’s practice of issuing “legal letters” to women and birthing people who opted for care ‘outside of guidance’. Our Legal Lead viewed these “legal letters” as both misleading and coercive, undermining the informed decision-making and consent which are an essential part of person’s human rights. The Trust’s legal department had to agree with this view and the practice was stopped. As an alternative to the coercive approach, the Consultant Midwife began the process of re-establishing the Trust’s Birth Option Clinics, where proper discussions could take place. They also proposed that staff delivering the clinic receive Birthrights training to ensure rights-respecting care is embedded in practice.   

Other successes included: 

• Stopping a discriminatory referral policy targeting autistic pregnant people.    

• Changing an NHS Trust’s policy on pursuit of debts of those who may not be entitled to free maternity care.  

• Changing Ministry of Defence policy on caesarean birth for forces serving in USA. 

We worked in community, listening to the experiences of the people who engage with our services and working with other community organisations to find out more about how the maternity system fails to uphold human rights law – and what we can do about it. We amplify the voices of people who are often marginalised and ignored, writing and promoting reports and creating focused campaigns. We speak up about their experiences in governmental and NHS meetings and consultations, and to professional bodies. Our research, evidence, advocacy, litigation and campaigns are designed to bring positive change in policy, practice and systems. Some highlights… 

• Publication of Access Denied: Restrictions to Home Birth in the UK (March 2025) – our report sets out the state of home birth services in the UK, the impact of suspensions and restrictions on women and birthing people, and what needs to be done to protect the right of all women and birthing people to make informed decisions about their bodies and their care, including choosing where they give birth.    

• Launched our campaign for a SAFE Maternity Care Act, demanding a legal framework that puts Safety, Accountability, Freedom of Choice, and Equity at the heart of maternity care. 

• Participated in the NMC Midwifery Advisory Panel and attended NMC briefings on unassisted birth, where we highlighted the disproportionate harms of regulatory failures on marginalised communities—and the resulting erosion of trust in maternity systems.