In this blog, Baby Lifeline’s CEO, Judy Ledger MBE, shares why this year’s National Maternity Safety Conference comes at a pivotal time for maternity safety, and invites you to join us in shaping the future of maternity care together.
I founded national charity Baby Lifeline over 43 years ago after the heartbreaking experience of losing three premature babies consecutively. My mission was – and remains – to support and work with NHS professionals at the heart of care. Baby Lifeline does this by buying equipment, developing and providing critical training, conducting research, and campaigning for safer care.
We held our first National Maternity Safety Conference in 2020. Since then, the annual event has grown into a ‘must attend’ conference that brings the maternity community together, not just to discuss challenges, but to share solutions, foster collaboration, and shape the future of maternity safety together.
Our Sixth National Maternity Safety Conference
This year’s conference comes at a particularly critical time. With a new 10-year plan for the NHS on the horizon, and a new Secretary of State for Health (who has stated that concerns about maternity safety keep him awake at night), there is a real and urgent opportunity for progress.
Report after report has shown that deep, lasting, system-wide change is badly needed to improve safety, equity, and outcomes for every mother, birthing person, and baby. But if that’s going to happen, we need more than plans; we need sustainable action. We need the right people in the room, honest conversations, and shared commitment at every level.
This is why we believe that Baby Lifeline’s sixth annual National Maternity Safety Conference couldn’t come at a more important time. Taking place on 25th September in Birmingham, this year’s conference promises to be our most powerful yet. It’s a call to come together to shape the future of maternity care.
Whether you’re a frontline maternity professional, policymaker, researcher, educator, family member, campaigner, or a system leader, this is your opportunity to be part of the conversation.
What Makes This Conference Stand Out?
We have worked in collaboration with frontline professionals, system leaders, and family voices to build a programme that addresses the real and pressing issues shaping maternity safety today. You’ll hear from some of the most influential voices in the maternity field and, just as importantly, from frontline professionals and those with lived experience of maternity care.
Confirmed keynotes include:
- Sir Jeremy Hunt, who has long championed safer maternity care and will speak about why it remains a personal priority. Sir Jeremy has been a long-standing supporter of Baby Lifeline. As Secretary of State for Health, he prioritised maternity safety with a national campaign to reduce avoidable baby deaths. During his tenure, perinatal mortality rates reduced by ~15%. We’ll hear from Sir Jeremy about why maternity safety remains a personal priority and what more needs to be done.
- Dr Richard Duggins, who will shine a spotlight on workforce wellbeing—one of the most urgent and often overlooked elements of safe care.
- Jennifer O’Donnell is a leader in innovative practice: she will offer practical tools to support teams in improving systems and safety.
Other sessions will offer innovative solutions to key challenges faced by those working in maternity services today: reducing mortality and morbidity, reducing inequity, and improving workforce and culture. Speakers will share experience and learning in areas including digital innovation, early warning systems, the role of restorative practice after harm, and initiatives tackling health inequalities in access and outcomes.
Looking Ahead Together
Our closing session, chaired by Shaun Lintern (health editor, The Sunday Times), looks ahead to the future. The panel discussion will bring together system leaders from organisations including NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and the Royal College of Midwives, as well as those with lived experience, to consider the themes and messages of the conference and reflect on the challenges and solutions shared throughout the day. The session addresses the key questions: what needs to happen next, and how do we do it together?
Why You Should Be There
We hope that this year’s event will be an opportunity to unite with a shared commitment to safer, more equitable, and more compassionate maternity care. This is a space to learn from what is already working and to help shape what must come next. The day will be interactive, with space for questions and discussion built into every session.
Visit out conference webpage to find out more and see a list of speakers announced so far.
Please join us. Let’s shape the future of maternity care together.
Judy Ledger MBE
Founder and Chief Executive, Baby Lifeline
The National Maternity Safety Conference 2025: Shaping the Future of Maternity Care Together
📍 Date & Venue: 25th September, Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham
🕘 Time: 09.30 – 17.00 (registration from 8.30am)
🔗 More details and tickets here.
