ABSTRACT
Chapter 13 in part covers the Cranbrook Report and the Peel Report, which heralded a programme of centralisation and medicalisation of maternity care. The introduction of cooperation cards for mothers and maternity liaison committees did little to satisfy women’s wishes for continuity of care from a known carer. The redefinition of the lying-in period, the reduction in length of the midwifery training period and early discharges were introduced to alleviate the unacceptable workloads of domiciliary midwives. Insufficiencies in hospital beds, the growth of large maternity hospitals and a lack of staff were issues taken up by the Royal College of Midwives. The implementation of central delivery suites and the professional development of midwives continued. Meanwhile, confidential enquires into maternal deaths in England and Wales demonstrated the safety of midwifery practice.
