Midwives

On Sunday 21 November, midwives will be holding peaceful vigils in city centres around the country as part of March with Midwives UK. Is this another group of public sector workers campaigning for greater pay and longer holidays? Unfortunately not – if the problem was that simple, a remedy would have easily been found by now. The nation’s midwives are instead taking action to preserve the women in their care and their profession from desperate and dangerous staffing shortages. I am in my third decade working as a consultant obstetrician. In all that time, I have never seen the midwives I know and work with so demoralised, so drained and so