About A Midwife for Me

It is widely accepted that giving a woman true continuity of care from a midwife that she knows and trusts, through pregnancy, birth and into the weeks afterwards delivers the best outcomes for women and their babies.

Yet despite knowing this, and despite the proven cost-savings of community based midwives providing continuity of care, we are still failing to deliver it for the majority of women.

Why?

In October 2012, a group of organisations with a long running history of campaigning on maternity issues - the NCT, AIMS, IMUK, ARM got together with The Birth I Want and Birthrights to discuss why, despite wanting it, most women don’t receive true continuity of care from a midwife they know and trust, and to look at ways to overcome the obstacles that currently stand in the way of this kind of care.

A few meetings on, a single, clear, shared aim had emerged, one that the group believe is the only way to deliver the woman-centred care that women, their babies and their families want, need and deserve:

We want every woman to have a midwife that she can get to know and trust, who can support her through pregnancy, birth and beyond, regardless of her circumstances or where her baby is to be born.

In May 2013, seven months on from the initial meeting, the Manifesto, entitled A Midwife for Me and My Baby was launched, outlining how our vision can be delivered.

Now we are asking groups, organisations and individuals to join us in our campaign - to help us hold the government to its word and to work with us as we develop and press for the implementation of practical solutions to delivering the kind of care that works best for women and their babies, as well as making it work for the midwives delivering that care.

In 2013 we have a government who has repeatedly stated its support for choice and continuity of care in maternity. Local commissioning groups have been set up across the England poised to start commissioning services. There has never been a better moment to shape maternity services into something that women truly want and deserve.

And you can help us do it.