People with learning disabilities accessing maternity services

Public Health England has estimated that 1 087 100 people in England, including 930 400 adults, have a degree of learning difficulty (Public Health England Learning Disabilities Observatory, 2015). However, there are no accurate numbers of parents accessing services (McGaw, 1997). Thurtle et al (2007) estimated that there could be 23 000–250 000 nationally; however, there are no more recent national statistics.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) (Rotherham, 2007) states that there should be a robust, flexible referral system for people with learning disabilities and a specialist or named midwife for disability. It sets out a group of standards to which all midwives and associated health professionals should work in order to provide effective care for patients with learning difficulties. This was underpinned by a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of professional conduct in relation to people with disabilities that was produced by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). This code also stated that all Trusts should have a Disability Equality Scheme in place by 2000. However, this specific acknowledgement is no longer included in the latest version of the NMC Code (NMC, 2018).