End coercive practices in maternity care
Birthrights is deeply concerned about the growing use of coercion and criminalising language in maternity care.
That is why we are launching a campaign to end coercive and discriminatory policies and practices in maternity care and to protect the rights of all women, birthing people, and healthcare professionals.
Women and birthing people are too often told their choices are “out of guidance,” leading to judgement, threats of safeguarding or social services referrals, capacity assessments, and in some cases even police involvement.
Midwives who support personalised decisions or speak up when rights are ignored can be bullied or reported to the NMC.
To help us challenge these practices, we want to hear from you: if you have been pressured, threatened, or had your decisions dismissed as “out of guidance,” please share your experience through our short survey below.
Thank you for sharing.
No one feels safe
Maternity care in the UK is increasingly shaped by a blame culture that prioritises Trust liability over personalised, rights-based care, putting both women and birthing people and healthcare professionals at risk.
Blanket application of guidelines, fear of personal repercussions, and inconsistent practices mean that women and birthing people who make informed, personalised choices, especially Black, Brown, migrant, and marginalised women and birthing people, are too often labelled “out of guidance” and met with coercion, safeguarding referrals, or even legal threats. Those less able to advocate for themselves are denied crucial information, deepening inequities and clinical risk. Healthcare professionals who support them face threats of disciplinary action and isolation.
This culture undermines informed choice, perpetuates systemic racism, and causes lasting trauma for women and birthing people and professionals alike.
We already know what’s broken with the system. Communities have said what they need, again and again. The problem isn’t a lack of insight; it’s a lack of action. We’re tired of the same loop of reviews and initiatives that do not translate into concrete improvements.
It’s time to break the cycle. We’re setting the agenda ourselves, grounded in what we hear from communities, to build a maternity care system that truly works for everyone.
Our End Coercive Practices campaign calls for a system where every woman and birthing person can make informed, autonomous decisions about their care, free from stigma, coercion, or punishment, and where healthcare professionals are supported, not punished, for providing safe, personalised, rights-based care.
Join our fight and share your experiences with us through our online surveys for women and birthing people, and healthcare professionals, or email us at [email protected]. If you are part of a community or collective group, get in touch to join forces, co-produce resources, and help hold the system accountable. Together, we can create a maternity care system where every choice is respected, every voice is heard, and coercion has no place.
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