By Judy Ledger MBE, Founder, Baby Lifeline and Baby Lifeline Training
Baby Lifeline’s National Maternity Safety Conference is back! And 2026 will be one of the most important events yet.
I am delighted to confirm that the National Maternity Safety Conference 2026 will take place on Wednesday 16 September 2026 at the Hilton Metropole Birmingham. Building on the success and popularity of our six previous conferences, this year’s event will bring together NHS professionals, families, researchers, policymakers, regulators and system leaders around a clear and timely theme: moving from insight – what is working well and what needs to improve – to implementing the system-wide change we know is needed.
At Baby Lifeline, we have long recognised that improving maternity safety has never been about a single report, policy, or organisation. Real and lasting progress only happens when people across the system come together to share ideas, listen carefully, learn honestly, and act collectively, with families’ experiences at the centre.
Speakers for #MatSafety2026 confirmed already include: Professor Marian Knight MBE, Dr Bill Kirkup CBE, Professor Alex Heazell, Dr Alison Wright, Gill Walton CBE, Dr Georgia Richards, and Dr Eddie Morris CBE. We will be announcing many more over the coming weeks, so please do keep an eye on our website and social media!
Why this conference matters
Over the past decade, multiple reviews and inquiries have highlighted serious and persistent problems in maternity care. These have been vital in understanding what needs to improve. Too often, however, the challenge has not been a lack of insight, but a failure to translate learning into sustained, system-wide change. The theme of this year’s conference addresses this issue head on, coming at a critical moment for maternity services in England.
The forthcoming National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, due to be published in the spring, alongside the establishment of a new national maternity taskforce, marks a unique opportunity for maternity services in England. Together, they offer a chance to move decisively from diagnosis to the implementation of measurable, equitable and sustainable change.
At Baby Lifeline, we have a unique role. For more than four decades, we have worked with NHS professionals at the heart of care, while also listening closely to families’ experiences. We believe that bringing together multiple perspectives is essential if improvement efforts are to succeed. Our annual National Maternity Safety Conference has therefore become an important fixture in the maternity safety calendar each year, providing a unique and valuable space where families, frontline clinicians, researchers, policymakers and system leaders come together on equal footing and with a shared purpose.
What to expect at #MatSafety2026
The 2026 conference is designed to support shared learning, recognising that safer maternity care depends on teamwork, culture and system design, not individual effort alone.
This year’s programme will focus on:
- Preparing for learning and next steps following the forthcoming National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, and the work of the national maternity taskforce
- Practical action to implement change and improve safety, equity and equality in maternity care
- Sharing initiatives already happening that have proven to be effective – not just ‘what’ was done, but ‘how’ it was achieved
- Listening to families, and supporting innovation that leads to better outcomes
As always, the emphasis will be on honest dialogue, practical solutions and collective responsibility, with sessions including key system leaders, front line staff and family voices.
A growing community with a shared purpose
I founded Baby Lifeline over 44 years ago following the devastating loss of three premature babies. My mission then – and now – remains to support those providing care, while never losing sight of the families whose lives are profoundly affected by the care they receive.
The 2026 National Maternity Safety Conference is about moving forward together. It is about ensuring that the insights we already have – and those still to come – lead to real, lasting improvement in maternity safety.
I hope you will join us in Birmingham on 16th September 2026, and be part of shaping the next chapter of maternity safety. Tickets are available now, as are exhibitor and sponsorship spaces.
Let’s move from insight to implementation — together.
Judy Ledger MBE
Founder, Baby Lifeline and Baby Lifeline Training Ltd