With momentum building around the upcoming general election on 4 July, all eyes are on the four main political parties as they release their proposed policies.
This week, the Green Party have sparked backlash over their pledge to reduce the number of caesarean sections in childbirth. According to the party’s health policy document, there has been an increase in C-sections, which it described as ‘expensive and, when not medically required, risky.’ The document went on to state ‘we will work to reduce the number of interventions in childbirth and change the culture of the NHS so that birth is treated as a normal and non-medical event, in which mothers are empowered and able to be in control.'
The document also made it clear that ‘all women should be entitled to the highest standards of care during pregnancy and birth, and postnatally' and suggests women should be given 'appropriate' choices.
The proposals have now been removed from the party's website but are still circulating on social media, where many people are up in arms. One X user posted, ‘As someone who just had a very safe elective c section with a very good recovery, this is incredibly worrying to see. It really isn’t the Green Party’s job to push an anti-c section agenda. And no, c sections are not “expensive”.*
Another user referenced Louise Thomson’s birth story to highlight why the policy is problematic for women. She wrote on X, ‘Louise Thompson repeatedly asked for a c section. She was told she was "low risk" and didn't need one. She nearly died and suffered serious health issues because of that. Her story is sadly very common. The policy of the Green Party wouldn't improve that.’
Louise has spoken openly about the impact of her traumatic birth to her son Leo in November 2021, which left her with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and life-altering health complications.
Anna, 36, tells Grazia she was horrified by the pledge. ‘If I hadn’t had an emergency c-section my baby would have died. It’s as simple as that,' she says. 'I’m lucky I wasn’t under the care of a hospital that decided it would try a bit harder to delay the procedure in order to keep their c-section numbers low, as some hospitals allegedly do.'
It's not just the risk that's upsetting, she adds, but also the stigma being reinforced by the Green Party's proposals: 'It sends the message that "natural" is best. There’s already so much shame around birth, with women feeling like failures if they don’t "give birth naturally" or their plans go awry. Do the Greens really want this to be the hill they die on? It shows how little they understand births.'
It’s true that the number of C-sections is increasing. During the 2010s, C-sections rose from 25% to about 30%-35% across England, Scotland, and Wales, which is partly driven by elective C-sections. But women should not be shamed for choosing the birth that works for them, whether that’s a C-section, epidural or a medication-free birth. There are plenty of valid reasons that women might not want to give birth vaginally, from fear of health complications to having previously experienced a traumatic birth. Research suggests that between 20 and 40 per cent of women find childbirth traumatic and 4 per cent of women may develop PTSD as a result. These figures show that birth is already challenging enough as it is, without the addition of any extra guilt or shame around C-sections.
Kim Thomas, CEO of The Birth Trauma Association, spoke to Grazia. 'Cost should not be a factor in deciding when to offer a medical intervention in childbirth,’ she said. ‘The only consideration should be the wellbeing of mother and child. Sometimes mothers do request caesareans for what might appear to be non-medical reasons, such as having had a previous traumatic birth, but in these cases, it is perfectly reasonable for the woman to want to minimise the risk of having a similar experience.'
Denying women C-sections can also be downright dangerous. The Ockenden Review, an independent inquiry into maternity care at the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust led by Donna Ockenden in 2022, found more than 200 babies and nine mothers had died in part due to failings of the trust. In the report, she acknowledged how the trust’s maternity unit had been praised for its lower-than-average Caesarean-section rate, concluding that ‘Some mothers and babies had been harmed by this approach.’
This week, Ockenden responded to the Green Party’s policy on X, posting, ‘I’m very happy to discuss #safematernitycare with anyone from any political party: 1st point of call for @TheGreenParty would be to read the @OckReview reports into Shrewsbury & Telford: the APPG @BirthTrauma report where 1300 women gave evidence & ‘Invisible’ by @ShaistaGohir.’
Following the backlash, the Green Party has confirmed that it will conduct a full review of its health policy. In response to the claims, Pallavi Devulapalli, who is standing for election for the Green Party in South West Norfolk, wrote on X that, 'There is no intention to stop or reduce medical care provision during pregnancy and childbirth.'
Speaking to LBC radio on Monday, Devulapalli added that the party wants to 'acknowledge the biological process but also ensure that everyone gets access to the best healthcare. We want the best outcomes for all mothers and babies when it comes to maternal care. We also want women to be involved in decision making about their care and for their views to be respected.'
Dr Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, told Grazia that the RCOG 'strongly believe' that women should be 'fully supported to make informed choices' about where and how they plan to give birth.
'No one should be made to feel that their birth experience was negative if they needed medical intervention,' she said. 'An emergency or unplanned caesarean birth may happen when there are serious concerns about the wellbeing of the woman or the baby, or when labour is not progressing as expected. In these circumstances, a caesarean birth can be a life-saving medical intervention.'
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