We are taking action and making improvements as a result of what parents said to us. This page was last updated in July 2025.
Thank you for telling us about your maternity care. Your feedback makes a difference!
Induction of Labour
The Maternity Voices Partnership gets a lot of comments about induction of labour. This should be expected around 30% women and birthing people are induced in NHS Lothian. The induction rate in NHS Lothian is lower than the average rate for Scotland which is 35%.
The comments we receive are about the delays experienced when coming in to have the induction process started and waiting to get transferred to the Labour Ward. Pain management is another issue.
The MVP is working with NHS Lothian maternity services to address the delays issues: we are supporting NHS Lothian plan to create a specialist team of midwives who would do all the inductions. We recommended an induction clinic where information would be given about the choices for induction methods and any questions answered. An induction coordinator is now in post and we are hoping this will start making a difference.
The MVP reviewed the information available to women and created a new section about Induction of Labour on this website. This was developed in collaboration the MVP lay members.
The new information leaflet is also available for view on this website.
NHS Lothian made a video to explain the induction process and you can watch it here.
The MVP gathered detailed feedback from women who had an induction. From these personal experiences we created posters and a portfolio of their testimonies which are now part of the training midwives receive in the hospital.
Having the necessary information to make decisions about your options and for giving consent
The MVP ran an online survey about “making decisions about care options and giving consent” in September and October 2017 and received 3000 replies from women who had had their baby in Lothian (in the previous 5 years).
The MVP designed a sticker to support meaningful discussions about care options. This ‘BRAIN’ sticker is now given to every women and birthing persons at their ‘booking’ appointment (the first appointment with a midwife). This is available in the languages most spoken in the Lothians.
The MVP undertook an evaluation of this initiative in October 2024. This showed that the implementation is not consistent as some women reported that they had not been given the sticker. The evaluation also showed that those who had been given the BRAIN sticker were more satisfied with their care and their involvement in decisions.
The MVP is working with NHS Lothian Community Midwifery Teams to ensure the sticker is consistently given. Midwives have been reminded that BRAIN is available in additional languages.
Welcoming more diverse members to the MVP
1. The MVP and Edinburgh University Pregnancy Research Team were granted funding to improve the diversity of the MVP membership.
The MVP Diversity Project uses both a traditional approach (in-person visits to various organisations who support people from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds or with socio-economic vulnerabilities) and an online campaign (with a targeted approach) are currently in process.
The MVP works in partnership with the Multi-Cultural Family Base. The MVP Chair has been invited to attend some of the support groups and to interview some of their clients. This provides an opportunity to hear from women who, for a number of reasons, do not access any feedback channels. Their personal experience of maternity care are regularly shared with NHS Lothian Maternity Services senior management and staff.
This what we have heard so far:
2. The MVP also received funding from NHS Lothian Charity to support a collaborative project between the MVP and KWISA a local charity that supports women of African or Caribbean descent.
This initiative – “ Nothing About Us, Without Us” – is a community collaboration between the Edinburgh-based charity KWISA and NHS Lothian Maternity Voices Partnership. It aims to promote positive pregnancy experiences and good birth outcomes for women of African or Caribbean descent and their babies. We held a number of events in 2023-24 with a cumulative attendance of over 120 participants. The aim is to strengthen mutual respect and understanding of different cultures to empower both women and NHS staff.
Read the report on the first phase of community engagement events: Nothing About Us Without Us – women of African and Caribbean heritage, community voices report.
A second phase of engagement is planned for 2025 with workshops about self-advocacy and birth rights.
3. The MVP received funding from NHS Lothian Charity to support better maternity care for LGBTQ+ families. We worked in partnership with LGBT+ Health and Wellbeing to develop a learning resource for midwives and doctors. This resource is based on a short film where local LGBTQ+ families share their experience of maternity care. To protect the privacy of the families, the film is only available to NHS staff but a report about the project with practical advice and further reading resources is available here: Providing Birth Support for LGBTQ+ Families.
