“Something needs to be done – multiple governments have just let it slide for so many years,” said Leeds mother Amarjit Kaur, whose daughter Asees was stillborn in 2024. Her words landed on the same day Baroness Valerie Amos set out interim findings that England’s maternity and neonatal services are failing too many families. (feeds.bbci.co.uk)

The review describes problems at every stage of the maternity journey: unsafe staffing levels, poor teamwork between clinicians, and a lack of candour when things go wrong. Families told investigators about cruel remarks, hostile cultures and discrimination that left them feeling ignored as risks escalated. (theguardian.com)

Amos’s team also heard allegations that some hospitals tried to conceal errors, including amending or withholding records after harm. Separate reporting has raised concerns that some baby deaths were recorded as stillbirths, which do not trigger coroners’ inquests, denying families answers. (theguardian.com)

So far more than 8,000 people have submitted evidence to the investigation, with Amos meeting over 400 families. Investigators have been out on the ground, engaging with trusts across England as they shape final recommendations due in April 2026. (aol.com)

The review lands after years of inquiries. Amos notes 748 recommendations on maternity safety have been made in recent times, yet change has been patchy and painfully slow for bereaved parents who expected lessons to be learned. (news.sky.com)

In West Yorkshire, families say the national picture mirrors their own experience. A BBC investigation found at least 56 baby deaths at Leeds Teaching Hospitals since 2019 might have been prevented; within days the CQC downgraded both maternity units to “inadequate”. “We still think there needs to be a closer eye on Leeds,” said Ms Kaur. (tommys.org)

Amos’s work was commissioned after a string of scandals from Morecambe Bay and Shrewsbury & Telford to East Kent, Nottingham and Leeds. Nottingham’s independent review is examining 2,500 cases and is due to report this summer, underscoring how deep the problems run beyond any single trust. (theguardian.com)

Ministers say they will act. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has promised to turn the final report into an action plan and to chair a new National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce. As of 14 January 2026, the Department of Health said membership was still being finalised with the first meeting set for “early this year”. (theguardian.com)

Campaigners want firmer guarantees. Reality TV presenter Louise Thompson and Conservative MP Theo Clarke have revived calls for a statutory maternity commissioner alongside a national strategy, with a live parliamentary petition pressing the case. (the-independent.com)

From the Labour benches, Sherwood Forest MP Michelle Welsh-who chairs Parliament’s Maternity APPG-warned the review must not “become a damp squib” and urged “big, bold policies” and clear accountability. She has pressed ministers to move quickly once Amos reports. (nz.news.yahoo.com)

Families outside the North echo the same frustrations. Robyn and Jonathan Davis, from Sussex, lost their son Orlando at 14 days after staff failed to recognise Robyn had developed hyponatraemia in labour; a coroner found neglect contributed to his death. Their group, Truth for Our Babies, has highlighted data suggesting at least 55 baby deaths in Sussex in recent years might have been avoidable. (thetimes.co.uk)

Equity is central. Evidence to the review described structural racism that leaves Black and Asian women at higher risk. ONS data shared by the charity Tommy’s shows persistent gaps: in 2023 the stillbirth rate among Black babies in England and Wales was nearly double that of White babies, with a widening deprivation gap too. (theguardian.com)

For the North, the next few weeks matter. Leeds families are still waiting for a named chair to lead the promised local inquiry, while nationally the taskforce must get off the blocks and Amos’s final recommendations-expected in April-need translating into funded staffing plans, safer estates and honest, family‑led investigations. (yahoo.com)

Parents here have heard fine words before. What they are asking for now is straightforward: be honest when care falls short, listen when mothers say something isn’t right, fix the basics on wards and publish the data that proves change is real-not just promised. (theguardian.com)