The National Maternity Care Conference 2027
Previous Supporters Include
Overview
Maternity services are at a critical turning point. Despite years of national safety initiatives, the total potential liability for maternity negligence claims has reached £27.4 billion since 2019, significantly exceeding the £18 billion invested in maternity care over the same period (Birthrights, 2025). Maternal mortality has increased by 20% over the past decade (MBRRACE-UK, 2025), while almost half (47%) of maternity services in England were rated by the CQC as requiring improvement for safety between 2022 and 2024 (House of Commons Library, 2026). In response, the establishment of the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, and the appointment of a dedicated Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner signal a renewed commitment to improving safety, quality and personalised care across maternity services.
Agenda
Online Registration
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, Chief Midwife, International Confederation of Midwives (invited)
Keynote: Government Priorities for Maternity Care: Policy Direction and the Road Ahead
- Explore the government’s priorities for improving maternity and neonatal care and what they mean for services, staff and families
- Examine the development of a national action plan covering the full maternity journey, from pre-pregnancy through to postnatal and bereavement support
- Discuss how government will hold the NHS to account for delivering measurable improvements in safety, quality and outcomes for women, babies and families
- Look ahead to the future policy landscape, including the opportunities and expectations for maternity leaders as national priorities evolve
Michelle Welsh MP, Maternity Advisor, Department of Health and Social Care, Vice Chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Baby Loss, Member, National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce (invited)
Keynote: The Future of Maternity Care: Delivering National Maternity Priorities Through Whole-System Working
- Gain practical insights into the latest national policy priorities and system challenges shaping maternity services, looking into how maternity leaders can deliver government ambitions
- Examine why a whole-system approach is central to delivering national ambitions, strengthening accountability and improving safety across maternity care
- Explore the actions maternity leaders can take to embed whole-system working, strengthen partnerships and deliver lasting improvements across local maternity services
Keynote: The Future Midwifery Workforce: Leadership, Retention and Workforce Culture
- Gain practical insights into the current workforce pressures shaping maternity services, including staffing challenges, burnout, communication barriers and workplace culture and their impact on teams and care delivery
- Examine what is needed to strengthen maternity teams, improve staff experience and create supportive working environments where midwives can thrive and deliver safe and effective care
- Assess the role of leadership, collaboration and positive workplace cultures in improving retention, supporting wellbeing and building resilient maternity services
- Explore approaches to address workforce challenges and create teams that are equipped to meet the evolving needs of women, birthing people, babies and families
Keynote: Creating Equitable Maternity Care: Addressing Inequalities for Improved Outcomes for Staff and Patients
- Understand how racism, discrimination and inequalities can affect maternity experiences and outcomes, and why addressing these issues is essential for ensuring safer maternity care
- Examine approaches to supporting staff who experience racism or discrimination from patients and families, creating environments where teams feel valued, respected and supported
- Explore strategies to make maternity services more inclusive and accessible for all families ensuring care is responsive to individual needs and experiences
- Assess how teams and services can embed equitable approaches that ensure every family is treated with respect, listened to, and supported to raise concerns with their care
Sarindi Aryasinghe, Head of Implementation, NHS Race and Health Observatory (invited)
Questions and Answers
Breakout Networking
Join our breakout networking session to engage with maternity leaders and professionals, explore shared challenges, exchange best practice and discuss collaborative strategies to overcome barriers and improve maternity care across the UK.
Comfort Break
Keynote: Transforming Maternity Care: Giving Women a Voice in Their Birth and Neonatal Journey’s
- Recognise the importance of building trust and confidence in maternity care by strengthening communication, listening to women’s and birthing people’s concerns and ensuring they feel heard, respected and involved in decisions about their care
- Explore approaches to delivering personalised and inclusive care by ensuring patient voices are acknowledged, respected and reflected in decisions
- Identify strategies to improve communication, ensuring information about care and babies’ journeys are shared clearly and accessibly, helping to better understand and engage with decisions
- Enhance confidence in creating trusted maternity teams where patient concerns are acted upon promptly, without dismissal or minimisation
Gill Walton, CEO and General Secretary, Royal College of Midwives (invited)
Keynote: Recognising Deterioration Earlier: Improving Escalation, Intervention and Patient Safety Across Maternity Services
- Understand the importance of recognising deterioration earlier and how timely escalation and intervention can improve outcomes and strengthen maternity safety
- Explore how approaches such as Martha’s Rule can support women, birthing people, families and staff to raise concerns, enabling quicker action when a patient feels their health is deteriorating
- Identify strategies to improve communication, clinical decision-making and escalation processes across maternity teams to reduce delays in care and prevent avoidable harm
Keynote: Preventing Avoidable Maternal Deaths: Tackling Thrombosis Through Early Recognition, Risk Assessment and Rapid Intervention
- Understand the impact of thrombosis on maternal mortality and why early recognition, effective assessment and timely intervention are critical to preventing avoidable maternal deaths
- Explore practical approaches to strengthening thrombosis prevention pathways, from identifying women and birthing people at risk and supporting timely intervention through to ongoing care following a thrombosis diagnosis
- Develop strategies to improve escalation, communication and response to support safer decision-making and coordinated responses across maternity services
Case Study: Improving Perinatal and Postnatal Support: Preventing Avoidable Deaths Through Compassionate Care
- Gain practical insights into the impact of perinatal and postnatal mental health challenges and the vital role maternity services play in preventing avoidable deaths
- Examine how earlier recognition, compassionate communication and timely intervention can strengthen support for women and birthing people experiencing mental health challenges after birth
- Assess the importance of strengthening collaboration between maternity and mental health services to create joined-up pathways that improve access to support after birth
- Explore trauma-informed approaches that strengthen postnatal care, improve women’s experiences and ensure families receive the right support
Nikki Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, Maternal Mental Health Alliance (invited)
Case Study: Strengthening Governance and Accountability: Creating Trauma-Informed Responses When Maternity Care Goes Wrong
- Understand the impact of traumatic birth experiences, bereavement, and maternity investigations on families, and the importance of compassionate, timely and sensitive responses
- Examine approaches to delivering trauma-informed investigation processes that ensure families are listened to, their questions are answered and they are supported throughout periods of grief and uncertainty
- Analyse strategies to strengthen accountability, transparency and communication when things go wrong, fostering a culture of learning, openness and continuous improvement
- Gain practical insights into supporting families throughout investigation processes by improving engagement and responding to concerns with compassion
Questions and Answers
Chair’s Closing Remarks
Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, Chief Midwife, International Confederation of Midwives (invited)
Conference Close
Get in Touch
Previous Speakers
Dr Ellen L Kitson-Reynolds
Principal Teaching Fellow and Midwifery Programme Lead
University of Southampton
Kelly Williams
Lead Midwife
North Thames Genomic Medicine Service Alliance hosted by UCL Partners
Gaynor Armstrong
Group Director of Midwifery
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
Gemma Puckett
Head of Midwifery
Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Gill Walton
CEO
Royal College of Midwives
Sarah Noble
Deputy Regional Chief Midwife, East of England Regional Team and Dr Alison Wright, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Benash Nazmeen
Director and Co-Founder
Association of South Asian Midwives
Testimonials
Excellent, thought provoking and inspirational to practice.
I am not a midwife and I attended this conference to help inform my practice by listening to midwifery leaders experience. The level was set just right and led to informative and interesting discussion.
Excellent informative day.
Why You Should Attend
✓ Gain practical insights to improve maternity safety and outcomes by exploring the latest approaches to preventing avoidable harm, recognising risk earlier and strengthening maternity care pathways
✓ Learn directly from leaders and frontline experts, taking away practical strategies to address workforce pressures, improve patient experience and implement meaningful service improvements
✓ Networking opportunities with Heads of Midwifery, maternity leaders, patient safety specialists and colleagues from across NHS maternity services, building valuable professional connections
✓ 8 hours of CPD points towards your yearly quota
Who Should Attend
| Organisation | Job Title |
| NHS Trusts | Maternity Nurse |
| NHS England | Head of Midwifery |
| Women’s Health Services | Labour Ward Co-ordinator |
| Neonatal Care Units | Perinatal Mental Health Midwife |
| NHS Maternity Care Units | Patient Safety Midwife |
| Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) | Safeguarding Midwife |
Pricing Options
PRIVATE SECTOR
Your delegate place at this leading conference gives you: Full access to the conference; E-guide; Networking opportunities during the day; Access to presentations post conference; 8 CPD Points.
PUBLIC SECTOR
Your delegate place at this leading conference gives you: Full access to the conference; E-guide; Networking opportunities during the day; Access to presentations post conference; 8 CPD Points.
VOLUNTARY SECTOR
Your delegate place at this leading conference gives you: Full access to the conference; E-guide; Networking opportunities during the day; Access to presentations post conference; 8 CPD Points.
Sponsorship
Raise Your Profile, Showcase Your Solutions, Generate New Business
If your products, services, and solutions can support our audiences in their roles, and you want to make connections and generate new business with key stakeholders, decision makers, and influencers, then please contact us HERE
IMPORTANT: There are only a small number of sponsorship opportunities available to ensure maximum exposure and ROI – contact us today to secure your place.
Virtual vs F2F
Whilst F2F provide better options for networking, there are many distinct advantages of sponsoring our online conferences including:
- Wider geographical reach of delegates and a different audience who prefer online to f2f
- Lower sponsorship package costs
- No travel/accommodation
- Less time out of the office
- No stand materials required (lower costs)
- 1 of only 2 sponsors involved – less competition on the day
- Prime speaking slot in the morning of the conference including Q&A – less distractions and easier for delegates to hear/absorb information
- Receive all delegate data after the conference to follow-up directly with those who attend and don’t attend (small % but still key stakeholders)
- Ongoing exposure via OnDemand access
To find out more and discuss your specific objectives, please contact us below:
