Birth Advocacy in
Gloucestershire & Beyond
•Holding Systems Accountable •
• Amplifying Women’s Voices • Inspiring Change•
Welcome to my Birth Advocacy Collection
— a dedicated space for birth workers, midwives, doulas,
activists, and community allies who care about the future of maternity care in Gloucestershire and beyond.
Here, I share my ongoing work in policy analysis, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests,
template letters, and local advocacy,
shining a light on what’s really happening behind the scenes in our maternity services.
My goal is to make this information transparent and usable
— to support those striving for continuity, compassion, and genuine co-production in birth care.
Whether you’re a professional looking to improve practice,
or a parent determined to protect your rights, you’ll find tools, evidence, and reflections here to help fuel meaningful change.
Birth Heroines: Wendy Savage – The Obstetrician Who Challenged the System
Wendy Savage was one of the few obstetricians in the 1980s brave enough to challenge the growing medicalisation of birth. She supported VBAC, home birth and women’s autonomy at a time when these ideas were considered dangerous. Her refusal to back down led to a highly publicised inquiry — the Savage Report — which cleared her entirely and exposed an ideology clash at the heart of maternity care. Wendy’s courage helped shift birth culture in the UK, opening the door for informed consent, physiological birth, and women’s decision-making. Her story is a reminder that rights are easily lost if we stop defending them.