The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Cymru has launched its 2026 manifesto, Safe staffing = safe care: Time for action for women and babies, calling on the next Welsh Government to take urgent action to address inequalities and workforce pressures across maternity services. 

The manifesto was launched at the RCM Cymru St David’s Day Conference in Swansea on Friday (27 February), bringing together midwives, maternity support workers, students, educators and leaders from across Wales. 

Across Wales’s seven health boards, around 28,000 babies are born every year. Yet too many women continue to face stark and unacceptable inequalities. Black and Asian women experience higher mortality, and women living in deprived communities are twice as likely to die. The RCM says pregnancy and birth should be moments of joy, not overshadowed by avoidable risk. 

The manifesto sets out the urgent action needed to ensure women and birthing people can rely on safe care – because without safe staffing, safe care cannot be guaranteed. The launch coincides with the publication this week of the national maternity and neonatal assurance assessment in Wales, highlighting urgent challenges across maternity services and reinforcing the immediate need for the workforce and system improvements RCM Cymru is calling for. 

Julie Richards, RCM Cymru Director, said: “RCM Cymru members hold the future health of Wales in their hands. Midwives, students and maternity support workers play a vital role in improving the health of women, families and communities, giving every baby the best possible start in life. 

“But without safe staffing, women and birthing people cannot rely on safe care. Services are under sustained pressure, and inequalities in outcomes remain deeply concerning. 

“This manifesto sets out clear, practical action for the next Welsh Government – including funding and enacting the Wales Perinatal Workforce Plan, implementing the Maternity & Neonatal Assessment recommendations and investing in the workforce so that no midwifery services are stood down due to staff shortages. 

“We stand ready to work in partnership to create safer, fairer and more inclusive maternity services for all.” 

The RCM Cymru manifesto calls for: 

Safe staffing: 

• By the end of 2028, enact and fund the Wales Perinatal Workforce Plan to deliver the right staff, in the right place, with the right skills 

• Full implementation of Maternity & Neonatal Assessment recommendations with dedicated funding and six-monthly progress reports to the Senedd 

• Investment in Welsh language skills to ensure inclusive, confident care 

A learning profession: 

• A graduate guarantee of a post for every newly qualified midwife in Wales, including roles beyond 22.5 hours per week where desired 

• An ‘earn-as-you-learn’ route for maternity support workers to become midwives 

• 52 hours of protected, paid Continuing Professional Development (CPD) time for midwives to support safe, high-quality care 

Amplifying midwifery voices: 

• Strengthened midwifery leadership, including directors of midwifery, consultant midwives and lead midwives for education working collaboratively across disciplines 

• Two whole-time equivalent consultant midwives in every health board 

Improving health and prevention: 

• An integrated care model across community and hospital maternity settings 

• Substantive funding for specialist midwife roles, including digital, feeding, bereavement, public health and perinatal mental health 

• Protected, funded time for midwives and MSWs to develop cultural competence and deliver equitable care 

Our workplace, our birthplace: 

• Ring-fenced capital funding to clear the backlog of fixable maintenance in the Welsh maternity estate by 2027 

• All maternity settings to be break-space compliant within 12 months 

• Embedding and rolling out breastfeeding support in NHS workforce policies and equalities plans 

Julie continued: “Families across Wales already receive extraordinary care from dedicated midwives and maternity support workers, but dedication alone can’t overcome workforce shortages and systemic pressures. 

“The next Welsh Government must put safe staffing at the heart of maternity policy. Now we need the political will to make safe staffing = safe care a reality for every woman and baby in Wales.” 

ENDS 

Notes to Editors  

• To contact the RCM Media Office call 020 7312 3456, or email media@rcm.org.uk 

• The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team.  We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance, and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences, and online resources. For more information visit the RCM | A professional organisation and trade union dedicated to serving the whole midwifery team