The Royal College of Midwives ends their campaign for “normal births” to avoid making mothers who opt for medical interventions feel like failures.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has been running a continuous campaign since 2005 to encourage expectant mothers to give birth without medical interventions such as; epidurals, inductions and caesareans.

Currently, around 40% of mothers give birth without medical interventions. 20% less than 30 years ago. But experts say a significant number of these are due to the increase in more risky pregnancies.

Prof Cathy Warwick, the Chief Executive of the RCM, said;

“There was a danger that if you just talk about normal births – and particularly if you call it a campaign – it kind of sounds as if you’re only interested in women who have a vaginal birth without intervention”.

“What we don’t want to do is in any way contribute to any sense that a woman has failed because she hasn’t had a normal birth. Unfortunately, that seems to be how some women feel.”

“What we don’t want to do is in any way contribute to any sense that a woman has failed because she hasn’t had a normal birth. Unfortunately that seems to be how some women feel.”

Midwives, will instead, start to use the term “physiological births” to describe those without interventions.

A group of Military nurses from East Grinstead, Birmingham and Oxford donned their combats for a day of fundraising on Tuesday 18 July in aid of the QVH Charity and the East Grinstead Museum.

In the space of six hours, the 12 nurses who based themselves at the Queen Victoria Hospital for the day, washed 34 cars, sold hundreds of homemade cakes and encouraged staff across the hospital to buy raffle tickets to win an array of prizes. The activities were arranged by a group of RAF nurses who work at the hospital and have gained specialist training in the areas of burns and plastic surgery, essential skills when on active duty on the front line.

Their efforts raised an amazing £700 which will be split equally between the QVH Charity and the East Grinstead Museum.

The QVH Charity helps the Queen Victoria Hospital provide even better care, and a better quality of life, for patients and their families. The charity also helps fund research and educational work, enabling the hospital to continue to develop new and innovative treatments for patients, and much more.

The East Grinstead Museum, houses the Rebuilding Bodies and Souls exhibition which celebrates the story of Sir Archibald McIndoe, reconstructive surgery at the Queen Victoria Hospital and the Guinea Pig Club. The museum catalogues and preserves artefacts and memorabilia relating to Sir Archibald McIndoe’s pioneering surgery at the Queen Victoria Hospital, and will use its donation to continue managing this collection.

Sgt Caroline Maynard-Burrows, an RAF nurse at the Queen Victoria Hospital, said: “As members of the RAF it’s important that we support the local community and what better charities to support than the QVH Charity and the East Grinstead Museum. Being based at the Queen Victoria Hospital enables nurses like myself to update our training and develop highly relevant skills for RAF duty. It’s a pleasure to be able to support the hospital’s charity.

Jo Thomas, Director of Nursing at the Queen Victoria Hospital, said: “We are proud of our military heritage and the RAF and army clinicians that work with us here at the hospital. We’re delighted that our nurses, and their colleagues who travelled down specially from Birmingham and Oxford, chose to support the QVH Charity and East Grinstead Museum through their fundraising. We’d like to thank them for their hard work and dedication.”