Somerset mum calling for a public inquiry into local maternity services wants to help mums have an easier journey
Annie Tombs launched a petition.
A mum from Somerset is calling for a public inquiry into local maternity services, so other new mums don't have to feel let down like she did.
Annie Tombs gave birth in Yeovil Hospital in 2022 and described how her trust was broken by "system-wide issues".
When we spoke to Annie, she highlighted that when she was discharged she wasn't given any information about what can naturally happen to her new-born for the first few months.
Now, she wants to see a change to make sure other mums don't ever go through what she has.
Annie, who founded Mums and Munchkins, said: "We need to kind of put a stop to that because I think it's the most important thing you can do in your life is have a baby, so it needs to be the best experience you can have.
"It's literally just sort of advocating for change. I'm not saying don't have your baby in hospital.
"You can have your baby in hospital but these are the things that actually need to change in order for you to have a good experience."
Well since the petition, Annie's taken step further and is working to get the information you need as a new mum out there.
She continued: "I have now set up a private group on Facebook and it's called Together for Better Maternity Care.
"The aim is to gather as many people, mums, nurses, doulas, midwives, anybody that sort of stands for better maternity care, can join this group..
"Then I'm hoping to sort of find a team essentially and the plan is to sort of roll out a booklet or a pamphlet with everything that you need to know that obviously that you don't get told."
Since Annie gave birth, the hospital's maternity services have been rated "inadequate" along with several others in the area.
A spokesperson for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are continuing to work hard to make improvements in our maternity services following the CQC inspection in November 2023 and have made significant improvements in several areas of the service including training compliance, leadership, governance and audit processes and our triage service. We have also introduced improvements to our estate and security and have secured investment to boost staffing levels.
“Feedback from families who use our services is central to these improvements and has helped us to develop a joint improvement plan in partnership with the Maternity Voices and Neonatal Partnership. We are very grateful all those who have shared their experience with us and we would encourage anyone who has a question or a concern about our maternity services to speak directly to their midwife.”
You can find out more about Annie's petition here.