Birth Choice Pulled into the Political Playground

Pre-election campaigning kicked off full force in the UK as we entered 2010 and the Tories promise “real childbirth choice” as one of their political selling points.

Today the BBC reports on Conservative leader David Cameron’s bid for new maternity networks that would supposedly better link local childbirth services and better meet mothers’ needs. This feature comes as part of wider plan for improved NHS services without spending cuts.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats question the Tories spending promises, but without entering the full political fray, what I see as interesting is the Tories’ attempt to capture the mummy vote by promising rather ambiguous plans for improved childbirth choice as one of their campaign features. In fact the BBC article highlights the Royal College of Midwives as saying service changes were already underway and the Conservative offerings appear no drastically different.

Get ready for some questioning about this Cameron – I think mums are a bit too smart to be conned by campaign mumbo jumbo that looks sweet but lacks substance. Let’s have a bit more detail please!