We've swapped personal touch of Call The Midwife for conveyor belt healthcare: Daxa Patel

I start this piece with a confession. I am addict of the BBC’s Call the Midwife. Watching the series I realise how much has changed, and not all for the better. However, that is evolution and a sign of the constant changing landscape.

By Daxa Patel

Published 12th Apr 2024, 05:45 BST

I was born at a time when my mother would have had a dedicated family doctor, a midwife, and a district nurse to care for her during her pregnancy. Now, these services are a lottery. Having acted for clients during my days as a clinical negligence solicitor dealing with childbirth injury cases, I know of many instances where expectant mothers felt isolated and unsupported. Matters are often worse if their first language is not English.

In Call the Midwife, a series set in the 1960s, we see community and one on one midwifery care. Home births were common, women were given a choice.