Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the experience of birthing partners (a) during and (b) immediately after labour.

NHS England’s Three-Year Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Services (published March 2023) sets out how NHS England will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women, babies and families, including birthing partners.

A commitment of this work is ensuring that women have a personalised care and support plan tailored to their individual needs and wishes. This can include their choice of partner or partners during labour and birth. NHS England have committed to producing standardised information for intrapartum interventions, mode of birth, induction of labour and pain relief. This will help women to make informed choices about their care and will also support the knowledge and understanding of birth partners.