{"id":73314,"date":"2025-05-14T13:45:29","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T12:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/?p=73314"},"modified":"2025-05-19T10:07:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T09:07:59","slug":"i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;I want another child, but I&#8217;m too scared&#8217;: Inside the UK&#8217;s maternity crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Maternal death rates in the UK are at a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npeu.ox.ac.uk\/mbrrace-uk\/data-brief\/maternal-mortality-2021-2023\">20 year high<\/a>, as maternity care plummets further into crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite this, the Department of Health has proposed a staggering <a href=\"https:\/\/rcm.org.uk\/media-releases\/2025\/04\/shocking-budget-cuts-will-compromise-the-delivery-of-safe-maternity-care-in-every-way-says-rcm\/#:~:text=The%20devastating%20decision%20revealed%20by%20the%20Health%20Service,Commenting%2C%20the%20RCM%E2%80%99s%20Chief%20Executive%2C%20Gill%20Walton%20said%3A\">\u00a393m in cuts to service development funding<\/a> for maternity care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/final-report-of-the-ockenden-review\/ockenden-review-summary-of-findings-conclusions-and-essential-actions\">Ockenden review<\/a>, which highlighted poor maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS trust, revealing at least nine women and 201 babies, could have survived&nbsp;if given a better standard of care. As a consequence \u00a395m in additional funding was pledged to be used for maternal care by NHS England.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, due to changes to the Department of Health, only \u00a32m of this funding is confirmed to be spent on maternity care in the year 2025\/26.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At a time of such clear failings, Sheffield Wire&#8217;s campaign, <em>Maternal health: Unseen threat, unequal care<\/em>, is unearthing what lays at the foundations of the crisis.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From midwives on the front line to mothers falling through the cracks, to an extended period of underfunding leading to less autonomy for mothers, alongside burnout and fear amongst midwives and a tick-box approach to birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Combined this results in a lack of adequate maternal and mental health support for new mothers, with disastrous consequences.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One mother explained how the traumatic birth of her daughter left her with a severe fear of hospitals which eventually forced her to quit her job as a nurse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another woman shares her experience with HELLP syndrome &#8211; a rare and difficult to diagnose form of preeclampsia &#8211; that tragically led to son&#8217;s death, and left her fighting for her life. She is now calling for a better understanding of women\u2019s health.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sheffield Wire also explores the impact a shortage of midwives is having on women\u2019s right to choose home births, and the changes that campaigners are calling for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><em>Maternal health: Unseen threat, unequal care <\/em>is #DemandingBetterBirths, and aims to prevent more women suffering in a broken maternity system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maternal death rates in the UK are at a 20 year high, as maternity care plummets further into crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":73428,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2120],"tags":[1624,2138,53,16,321,1343],"class_list":["post-73314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campaigns-maternal-top-story","tag-crisis","tag-maternal-health","tag-maternity","tag-nhs","tag-pregnancy","tag-womenshealth"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&#039;I want another child, but I&#039;m too scared&#039;: Inside the UK&#039;s maternity crisis - Sheffield Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;I want another child, but I&#039;m too scared&#039;: Inside the UK&#039;s maternity crisis - Sheffield Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Maternal death rates in the UK are at a 20 year high, as maternity care plummets further into crisis.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sheffield Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-14T12:45:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-19T09:07:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/stephen-andrews-GwgFPDXiSIs-unsplash.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Phoebe Snedker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Phoebe Snedker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/14\\\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/14\\\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Phoebe Snedker\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b0546bfdab245a5362d9b907d21448d8\"},\"headline\":\"&#8216;I want another child, but I&#8217;m too scared&#8217;: Inside the UK&#8217;s maternity crisis\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-14T12:45:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-19T09:07:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/14\\\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":338,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/14\\\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/stephen-andrews-GwgFPDXiSIs-unsplash.png\",\"keywords\":[\"crisis\",\"maternal health\",\"maternity\",\"nhs\",\"pregnancy\",\"womenshealth\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Campaigns - Maternal TOP STORY\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/14\\\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/14\\\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\\\/\",\"name\":\"'I want another child, but I'm too scared': Inside the UK's maternity crisis - Sheffield Wire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/14\\\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/14\\\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/stephen-andrews-GwgFPDXiSIs-unsplash.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-14T12:45:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-19T09:07:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b0546bfdab245a5362d9b907d21448d8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/14\\\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/14\\\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/14\\\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/stephen-andrews-GwgFPDXiSIs-unsplash.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/stephen-andrews-GwgFPDXiSIs-unsplash.png\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":666,\"caption\":\"Credit: Stephen Andrews via Unsplash\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/14\\\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"&#8216;I want another child, but I&#8217;m too scared&#8217;: Inside the UK&#8217;s maternity crisis\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Sheffield Wire\",\"description\":\"The latest news from South Yorkshire\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b0546bfdab245a5362d9b907d21448d8\",\"name\":\"Phoebe Snedker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/51f9e74bda0dba9c55410a630f224fa0370759f166817ec35a5278cfe5653e59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/51f9e74bda0dba9c55410a630f224fa0370759f166817ec35a5278cfe5653e59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/51f9e74bda0dba9c55410a630f224fa0370759f166817ec35a5278cfe5653e59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Phoebe Snedker\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/jop24pas\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'I want another child, but I'm too scared': Inside the UK's maternity crisis - Sheffield Wire","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"'I want another child, but I'm too scared': Inside the UK's maternity crisis - Sheffield Wire","og_description":"Maternal death rates in the UK are at a 20 year high, as maternity care plummets further into crisis.","og_url":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/","og_site_name":"Sheffield Wire","article_published_time":"2025-05-14T12:45:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-19T09:07:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":666,"url":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/stephen-andrews-GwgFPDXiSIs-unsplash.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Phoebe Snedker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Phoebe Snedker","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/"},"author":{"name":"Phoebe Snedker","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b0546bfdab245a5362d9b907d21448d8"},"headline":"&#8216;I want another child, but I&#8217;m too scared&#8217;: Inside the UK&#8217;s maternity crisis","datePublished":"2025-05-14T12:45:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-19T09:07:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/"},"wordCount":338,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/stephen-andrews-GwgFPDXiSIs-unsplash.png","keywords":["crisis","maternal health","maternity","nhs","pregnancy","womenshealth"],"articleSection":["Campaigns - Maternal TOP STORY"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/","url":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/","name":"'I want another child, but I'm too scared': Inside the UK's maternity crisis - Sheffield Wire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/stephen-andrews-GwgFPDXiSIs-unsplash.png","datePublished":"2025-05-14T12:45:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-19T09:07:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b0546bfdab245a5362d9b907d21448d8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/stephen-andrews-GwgFPDXiSIs-unsplash.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/stephen-andrews-GwgFPDXiSIs-unsplash.png","width":1000,"height":666,"caption":"Credit: Stephen Andrews via Unsplash"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/i-want-another-child-but-im-too-scared-inside-the-uks-maternity-crisis\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"&#8216;I want another child, but I&#8217;m too scared&#8217;: Inside the UK&#8217;s maternity crisis"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/","name":"Sheffield Wire","description":"The latest news from South Yorkshire","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b0546bfdab245a5362d9b907d21448d8","name":"Phoebe Snedker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51f9e74bda0dba9c55410a630f224fa0370759f166817ec35a5278cfe5653e59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51f9e74bda0dba9c55410a630f224fa0370759f166817ec35a5278cfe5653e59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51f9e74bda0dba9c55410a630f224fa0370759f166817ec35a5278cfe5653e59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Phoebe Snedker"},"url":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/jop24pas\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73314"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74179,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73314\/revisions\/74179"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}