Most births where something goes wrong do not involve negligence. Where care during pregnancy, labour or delivery fell below the standard expected, and that caused avoidable harm to a mother or a baby, a claim may be possible. Children have far longer to bring one than adults do.
MATERNITY CLAIM - A claim arising from care during pregnancy, labour, delivery or the period immediately afterwards. It can be brought on behalf of a baby, by a mother in her own right, or both.
What kinds of failing can arise?
Monitoring during labour not carried out, or signs of distress not acted on
Delay in delivering a baby, including delay in proceeding to an emergency caesarean
Avoidable injury during an instrumental delivery
Conditions in pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes not identified or not managed
Infection not recognised or not treated in mother or baby
Failure to discuss the risks of different modes of delivery, so that a real choice was never offered
Injuries to the mother
These are frequently overlooked, including by the women affected, who often assume that what happened to them is simply part of childbirth.
Severe perineal tears that were avoidable or went unrecognised, retained products, avoidable damage during surgery, and psychological injury following a traumatic delivery are all capable of forming a claim in their own right. A mother's claim stands separately from any claim on behalf of her baby.
How long do we have?
A claim on behalf of a child works differently from an adult claim. The three year period does not begin until the child turns eighteen, which means a claim can usually be brought at any point up to their twenty first birthday. Where a child lacks the capacity to manage their own affairs, there may be no time limit at all.
A mother claiming for her own injuries has the usual three years, which can run from the date she first realised her injury might be linked to her care.
What would need to be proved?
That the care fell below the standard a competent maternity team would have provided, and that this caused the harm. In cases involving injury to a baby, causation is usually the difficult part, because it requires evidence about what was happening and when, often to within minutes.
Records matter enormously here, monitoring traces, timings, and the notes made during labour are the evidence, and they cannot be reconstructed later.
What if I want answers rather than a claim?
NHS providers have a duty to be open with patients when something has gone wrong, and serious maternity incidents are subject to investigation independently of the trust involved. You can ask what happened, and receive an explanation, without making any legal claim at all.
Want to understand what happened?
These organisations support families through pregnancy loss, birth trauma and the aftermath, with no connection to any legal process.
Frequently asked questions
There are more on our FAQ page.