Author of England maternity care review ‘listened to wrong voices’, says adviser

Dr Bill Kirkup says section of Valerie Amos’s report criticising ‘normal birth ideology’ was removed before publication

The head of an inquiry into maternity care altered its final report to remove criticism of “normal birth ideology”, one of her expert advisers claims.

Dr Bill Kirkup said Valerie Amos “listened to the wrong voices” before a section outlining the potential risks of encouraging women to have a vaginal birth “disappeared” from the final version of her government-commissioned report.