Support the campaign to fund future midwives in the UK
On March 3rd 2026, student midwives, qualified midwives, doulas and advocates took to the streets on Parliament Square Gardens to demand change for future midwives. I was invited to speak amongst and incredible line-up of activists to make our voices heard. Below is the speech I shared.
“Today, at the Fund Future Midwives demonstration, we stand not just for students, not just for jobs, but for the future of maternity and perinatal care in this country.”
“A year ago, Birthrights published findings from a survey into the experiences of student midwives. The themes were clear then. Today, they are louder, sharper, and more urgent. Things have not improved. They have worsened. Let me remind you what students and qualified midwives are saying.”
“After three years of intense study, unpaid placements, night shifts, trauma, and dedication students are qualifying into unemployment. One student shared, “There are no jobs at my trust or any of the trusts in my area. I feel dejected and unwanted after working so hard for nearly three years.” Another said, I feel “Completely terrified and disheartened to know you’ve spent the past three years training only to be told there are no vacancies.” Some are told jobs may come. Rumours circulate. But there is no certainty. No transparency. No security. And when jobs do exist? They are often over 90 minutes away, impossible for those with childcare. Or they are lower banded, lower paid, undervaluing years, even decades of expertise.”
“And it doesn’t stop at job prospects. Midwives tell us there is little career progression unless they move into management, roles many do not want. Positions where burnout, bullying, and impossible on-call systems erode joy and wellbeing. One midwife shared, “Who wants to be a Matron or Head of Midwifery when you’ll be abused on all sides and never have a work-life balance?” Expert clinical midwives, those who want to remain with women and birthing people, on the frontline, are underfunded and undervalued. Their experience unrecognised.”
“And then there are the barriers we must name clearly: nepotism, discrimination, silencing.”
“Another midwife shared, “I’m an experienced midwife. It has been sad to find that professional nepotism is alive and well in maternity. It seems if you challenge the status quo you are unlikely to be promoted. It’s like there’s an echo chamber, people recruit in their own image so as not to feel the discomfort of experience, expertise and ability.” When midwives who advocate fiercely for women and birthing people are pushed out, worn down, or forced to conform it is not just midwives who lose. Women and birthing people lose too.”
“Equally alarming is what students are telling us about their training. Many are qualifying without ever witnessing a homebirth. Without seeing physiological birth. Without experience in waterbirth. Without exposure to bereavement care. One midwife shared, “I became an expert at induction and epidurals.” In some trusts, there are no birth centres. Homebirth teams are suspended or constantly being diverted. Continuous monitoring is the norm, even for low-risk pregnancies, because in risk averse environments, intermittent monitoring has become rare.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means a generation of midwives are being trained in a system that prioritises protecting itself rather than nurturing the autonomy and skills of midwives. It means confidence in physiological birth is eroded before it can even grow. It means inequity where students in some regions gain rich community experience, and others never get the chance. And when funding for development is cut, when degrees must be self-funded and studied for in exhausted spare hours, when psychological safety is lacking midwives look elsewhere.”
“And at a time when we are told maternity services are under pressure — we are actively pushing skilled midwives away. This is about funding. This is about whether we value compassionate, evidence-based, human rights centred care.”
“And this is where solidarity matters.”
“To my fellow doulas here today: We are part of the same ecosystem of care. Doulas see firsthand the difference when a midwife has time, autonomy, and support to practise fully. We see what happens when staffing is unsafe. We see the trauma to pregnant people when midwives cannot give the care they know women and birthing people deserve. We also see how both midwives and doulas are the first to be scapegoated when the system starts to crumble.”
“Standing in solidarity means:”
• Advocating alongside midwives for safe staffing and proper funding
• Supporting campaigns that protect physiological birth and community services
• Amplifying midwives’ voices when they speak out
• Recognising that continuity, autonomy, and relationship-based care protect everyone, pregnant people, babies, doulas, and midwives
“This is about ensuring that the next generation of midwives:
Can find work.
Can progress fairly.
Can feel safe to support physiological, community-based care.
Can challenge unsafe systems without fear.
and they can remain in a profession they love.”
“And ultimately, It is about whether women and birthing people receive the safe, respectful, skilled care they deserve. We cannot say perinatal services are in crisis while leaving newly qualified midwives unemployed. We cannot advocate for choice if there are no skilled midwives left to support those choices. Funding future midwives is funding the future of birth.”
“And today, together — students, midwives, doulas, families — we say clearly:
Fund future midwives.
Value them.
Listen to them.
Stand with them.”
