MPs gathered in Westminster last Tuesday (26 February) for a 90-minute debate on maternity services in England. We took full opportunity of the debate to amplify the voice of members through briefing MPs ahead of time – and that work paid off. We were name-checked multiple times, on issues like the need for more midwives and for better financial support for student midwives.

On midwife shortages, Chichester MP Jess Brown-Fuller – who had secured the debate – spoke about “pressure and stress” on midwives leading to “burnout” and “the loss of experienced professionals from the field”. This was echoed by Liberal Democrat health spokesperson and MP for North Shropshire Helen Morgan, who said: “They are leaving the service in high numbers, and are unable to deliver the care that they really want to deliver to mothers at their most vulnerable moment.” Surrey Heath MP Dr Al Pinkerton spoke about “inadequate staffing” being a safety risk and the need to “both retain and also hopefully recruit” more staff.

Prior to the debate, we had asked MPs to try to get the Minister to confirm whether the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan out this summer would include midwifery. The Minister (Karin Smyth MP) did indeed confirm this and set out multiple ways in which the Government was trying to recruit and retain midwives.

The RCM has called the forthcoming 10-year plan for the NHS a chance for change for generations to come. Eastleigh MP Liz Jarvis said that she supported “the view of the Royal College of Midwives that this priority must be reflected in how maternity services feature in the 10 Year Health Plan, with a decade of ambition and focus, as well as a commitment to proper funding.” Calder Valley MP Josh Fenton-Glynn MP agreed: “It gives us … the chance to rebalance our health system and focus on different priorities that have been long neglected, be that maternity services or mental health.”

The Minister confirmed that workforce would be “central” to the plan, as would “how we train” staff and “infrastructure”, which is another issue we raised and which was picked up.

Epsom and Ewell MP Helen Maguire spoke plainly: “Our maternity services are held back by infrastructure that is simply not fit for purpose.” The Conservative shadow health minister and MP for Hinckley and Bosworth Dr Luke Evans MP referred to parts of the NHS estate as “not fit for purpose and lacking the space for facilities”. Dr Al Pinkerton MP mentioned the need for “spaces where conversations can be had” and “handovers can take place” as well as the need for rest areas for staff.

There was an air of urgency and even frustration in many of the contributions. Setting out many of the recurrent themes that are found in maternity services where avoidable tragedies take place, Helen Morgan MP said “There are no excuses now – the issues have been identified time and again”.

The Minister conceded that more needed to be done and that the same messages have been heard time and again about when services fail, saying that Government needed to “crack on and deliver.”

Finally, in our briefing to MPs we emphasised the continuing need to address disparities in the outcomes of maternity care, with Black women being twice as likely as white women to die in the perinatal period being among the starkest of these. These issues were raised by Jess Brown-Fuller MP, Worthing West MP Dr Beccy Cooper as well as both the Liberal Democrat and Conservative spokespeople.

In the runup to this debate, we encouraged members to contact their MP to ask them to participate. The power of a constituent contacting their MP was underscored by the contribution from Helen Maguire MP, who said: “A local midwife recently shared with me the reality of working in our maternity services. She described how the staffing problems in maternity continue to be dire. There simply are not enough midwives rostered each day to cover the work, which makes it unsafe for women and their babies, and creates an unsustainable working environment for those left behind.”

It is always worth contacting your MP about issues that are important to you.

Post-debate, we will be following up with the MPs who spoke. We have met some since last year’s election, but we now know of even more who care about maternity services.

You can read the full transcript of the debate on Parliament’s website and you can also watch a recorded livestream of it too.