National Maternity Investigation: Interim Report.

Safer maternity care has never been far from the news for a number of years. Notably, Donna Ockenden’s report into failings at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust was published in March 2022. The findings of such became the worst maternity scandal in the history of the NHS.

Ms Ockenden and her team reviewed the care of 1,486 families between 2000 – 2019. Harrowingly, the report identified 201 cases of stillbirth and neonatal deaths, together with nine maternal deaths. The report also found that other babies had been starved of oxygen and left with life-changing disabilities. Unsurprisingly, the findings sent shockwaves through both the local community and the wider public.

Sadly, this was not an isolated picture as similar investigations were also carried out at East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.

In June 2025, the Government launched a National Maternity Investigation, chaired by Baroness Amos. The Investigation is to review the maternity services provided by 14 NHS Trusts over the past 15 years and to deliver a clear set of national recommendations in a bid to ensure consistent, high quality and safe care to mothers and babies.

The purpose of the investigation is to look at areas of concern, including women’s voices not being listened to, safety concerns being overlooked and poor working cultures and leadership.

In an initial report, published in December 2025, Baroness Amos wrote that she had not been prepared for the scale of unacceptable care that women and families had received. It was recognised that there were ongoing consequences for mothers and their babies, as well as the impact of mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

The initial report also highlights that the NHS have recorded 748 recommendations relating to maternity and neonatal care in the past decade alone, something that Baroness Amos described as “staggering”.
Ms Amos noted that her investigation to date had shown consistent concerns being brought to her attention. These include:

• Women not being listened to;
• Not being given the correct information to make informed choices;
• Discrimination against women of colour, working class women, younger parents and women with mental health problems.
• Concerns in regards to foetal movements being dismissed;
• A lack of empathy leading to women feeling guilty or blamed;
• A lack of recognition for the long term impact that traumatic experiences can have;
• Poor standards of basic care;
• A lack of family engagement in reviews of care and an adversarial approach when concerns are raised.
• Instances where bereaved mothers were placed on wards with newborns.

Ms Amos is expected to provide a further interim report in February 2026 with the final report due in Spring 2026.

Wes Streeting, Heath Secretary commented that the update “demonstrates that too many families have been let down, with devastating consequences”.

At Lanyon Bowdler, we have a dedicated Maternity Team comprising of nationally recognised specialist lawyers. We are committed to assisting families who have been impacted by substandard maternity services. Our team take a sensitive and caring, family-first approach to support through the darkest of times.

Our team has a wealth of experience in handling a wide range of cases, including:

Stillbirth and neonatal death claims

Maternal death due to poor obstetric care

• Birth injuries to babies, including cerebral palsy and Erb’s palsy
• Birth injuries to mothers, including perineal tears and retained placenta
• Failures in antenatal and postnatal care

If you or a loved one have been impacted by poor maternity care, please contact our team to discuss your enquiry further.