ABSTRACT
The earliest question faced by a solicitor who has been consulted by a woman damaged as a consequence of childbirth is whether or not he can assume, expect or even reasonably consider that this adverse outcome is a consequence of substandard medical or midwifery care. Obviously, childbirth is not completely safe, but the dramatic fall in morbidity and mortality that has occurred in living memory, let alone over the past century, has made it seem so. Good statistics are available for maternal deaths, but far less information is available for damage amongst survivors.
