Key Summary
- Welsh will also be part of the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which was set up to drive change in response to Baroness Amos’s independent investigation.
- She will regularly meet ministers to share evidence and advice, and work with families and communities to help the government improve maternity services.
- Welsh had earlier called for an independent review into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust in 2020.
The government has appointed Michelle Welsh MP as the first Maternity Adviser, who will push for safer care for mothers, babies and families.
Welsh, a Labour MP for Sherwood Forest since July 2024, will work directly with families, the government, the NHS and key maternity organisations to drive lasting improvements in the maternity health services across the country.
She will regularly meet ministers to share evidence and advice, and work with families and communities to help the government improve maternity services.
There will be a special focus on those from communities that face the greatest health inequalities.
Welsh will also be part of the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which was set up to drive change in response to Baroness Amos’s independent investigation into maternity and neonatal care.
As a member of the taskforce she will work on the response and implementation of the actions from the investigation, which are expected in June 2026.
Welcoming her appointment, health secretary James Murray said, "Far too many women and families have been let down by maternity services, and that must change.
"Michelle Welsh brings exactly the commitment and expertise this role demands, and I know she will be a powerful champion for women and families."
Welsh said, "This role is deeply personal to me. Like far too many women across this country, I know what it feels like to come through childbirth carrying both physical and emotional scars. That experience has strengthened my determination to fight for safer, more compassionate maternity care for every family.
"As national Maternity Adviser, I will work tirelessly to drive forward meaningful reform focused on safer staffing, stronger accountability, listening to women, tackling inequalities and ensuring lessons are learned when failures happen."
She had earlier served as chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Maternity, and has been a tireless advocate for making maternity services safer, particularly for Black women, Asian women and other women from ethnic minority groups who face the greatest inequalities in care.
Welsh was also the first elected member in Nottinghamshire to call for an independent review into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust in 2020.
