2,616
of 5,000 signatures
To Wes Streeting - The Secretary of State for Health and NHS England
I saw firsthand what it looks like when midwives are stretched beyond what any person can sustain. This has to change, for them, and for everyone who needs them.
When I was pregnant, I put my trust in my midwives completely. And they were extraordinary - skilled, kind, and utterly committed. But I also saw what it cost them.
I watched my midwife go twelve hours without sitting down. I saw the exhaustion on her face, the way she kept going long past what any person should be expected to. At one point she told me, quietly, that she hadn't had a break. She said it like it was just normal and like it was a normal part of the job.
Across the NHS, midwives are routinely working shifts without rest breaks. Many are signed up to opt out of the Working Time Regulations, not freely, but because speaking up feels impossible. Clinical errors linked to fatigue are not rare accidents, they are what happens when a system asks too much of too few people for too long.
When I was pregnant, I put my trust in my midwives completely. And they were extraordinary - skilled, kind, and utterly committed. But I also saw what it cost them.
I watched my midwife go twelve hours without sitting down. I saw the exhaustion on her face, the way she kept going long past what any person should be expected to. At one point she told me, quietly, that she hadn't had a break. She said it like it was just normal and like it was a normal part of the job.
Across the NHS, midwives are routinely working shifts without rest breaks. Many are signed up to opt out of the Working Time Regulations, not freely, but because speaking up feels impossible. Clinical errors linked to fatigue are not rare accidents, they are what happens when a system asks too much of too few people for too long.
Petition text
This isn't just a midwives' issue. It's a maternity safety issue. When midwives are exhausted and overstretched, everyone in that room is affected.
We owe midwives and pregnant people better! That’s why we're calling on the government and NHS England to:
- Legally enforce limits on shift length and hours worked in any 24-hour period for NHS midwives
- Guarantee protected rest breaks during every shift, with real accountability for Trusts that fail to provide them
