Prime Minister Keir Starmer says “we will fix maternity services” as Sherwood Forest MP Michelle Welsh calls for urgent reforms, highlighted in Baby Loss Week campaign and debate

An MP has secured assurances from the Prime Minister that the government will make urgent reforms to failing maternity services, as she shone a spotlight on the ‘heart-breaking’ issue of baby loss.

The promise comes after Sherwood Forest MP Michelle Welsh led a special debate in the House of Commons as part of Baby Loss Awareness Week, which took place from October 9 to 15 October.

The campaign aims to raise awareness about pregnancy and baby loss in the UK, and as chairman of the Maternity All-Party Parliamentary Group, Ms Welsh felt it was important that the issue be heard in the halls of power.

Stating that “grief must become the engine of change”, the MP called for government to make addressing failing maternity services a priority, and put a greater focus on women’s health.

Currently, 65% of maternity services in England are rated as not fully safe for women. Here in Nottinghamshire a major review is taking place into the care given at Nottingham University Hospitals, led by Donna Ockenden and finding are expected to be published in summer 2026.

Addressing her parliamentary colleagues, Ms Welsh gave an emotional speech about the issues at hand.

She spoke from personal experience after giving birth to her son by emergency C-section in 2022, saying “both my son and my life were put at risk by a failing maternity service”.

Ms Welsh said: “We are facing a crisis within our maternity services, but the only way through it is together.

“Families, midwives, mothers, fathers, obstetricians, charities, decision makers, members of parliament all coming together in this movement to fundamentally reshape our services to put safe birth, continuity of care, and accountability at the centre.

“We are bound together by a shared heartbreaking truth that no parent should have to say goodbye before they say hello.

“Families affected, deserve more than condolences. It is up to us in this chamber to demand an end to the preventable failures, systematic neglect, and outdated protocals that steal futures.

“Grief must become the engine of change. It is not enough to patch a broken system, we must build it stronger and safer than ever before.”

She concluded by saying she “will not rest until our maternity services are permanently fixed.”

Following the debate, Ms Welsh told the Advertiser that it had been “powerful, emotional and long overdue”.

“For too long, baby loss and maternity failings have been whispered about in the shadows,” she said. “But bringing the experiences of families into Parliament forces those in positions of power to confront what has gone wrong.

“Every parent who shared their pain deserves more than sympathy; they deserve action.

“We now need urgent, lasting reform – proper accountability, safe staffing, and continuity of care – so that every mother is heard, every baby is protected, and no family ever has to endure preventable heartbreak again.”

At this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions (October 22) , the Sherwood Forest MP doubled down and asked the Prime Minster, Keir Starmer, if he agreed that this government should prioritise transforming services “so that every birth is an informed birth, and every birth is a safe birth”.

Mr Starmer thanked Ms Welsh for her question and assured her that the many personal and powerful testimonies and stories that had been shared had been heard

“We do need to fix what needs fixing,” he said.

“So we will fix maternity services, improve safety, and make sure every mother is heard and gets high quality care.”