Medical misogyny has cast a long shadow over maternity care in this country. The conversations I’ve had with harmed and bereaved families have been profoundly shocking.
They have lived through hell and experienced losses that, in too many cases, could and should have been prevented.
Their stories lay bare the human cost of a system that failed to listen, learn or act.
Too often, when women raise concerns about pregnancy or labour, they are dismissed, their instincts questioned, their pain minimised, their dignity compromised.
I’ve heard stories of one woman denied pain relief because staff thought she was “a strong Black woman”, and Asian women labelled “divas” for requesting the support during labour.
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These are not isolated failings but symptoms of a deeper problem.
Women’s voices have been devalued at the very moment they should be trusted the most.
Inquiry after inquiry, from Morecambe Bay to East Kent, Nottingham to Shrewsbury and Telford, have exposed a toxic pattern: women and midwives who spoke up were silenced, warnings ignored, and mothers’ fears brushed aside.
This is medical misogyny made visible, when a mother’s pain is dismissed as anxiety, and “trusting the professionals” takes precedence over the lived experience of the woman at the heart of the ordeal.
Of course, most women receive outstanding, compassionate care from dedicated NHS staff.
But one preventable death, one woman unheard, is one too many.
Changing this means dismantling the culture and ingrained behaviours that allowed this dismissal of the human experience to fester and grow. That work has begun. We are building an NHS that hears women, learns from them and puts their safety first.
Every woman deserves to be believed and respected, and to come through pregnancy and childbirth safe, supported and ready for the joys and challenges of parenthood.
Wes Streeting is secretary of state for health and social care
Photograph by Richard Saker for The Observer