There’s a story today that I really want talk about. The Birth Trauma Inquiry – by a cross party group of MPs – has called for a national plan to improve maternity care, after speaking to 1,300 women and finding “shockingly poor quality” in how we look after women giving birth. In the Politics Hub team call this morning, I joked that after having two children in recent years I had become radicalised when it comes to maternal health care. But if I’m being honest with you, it’s not really a joke – I DO feel radicalised on it. Because maternity care in the UK is, in my opinion, really quite shocking. And my own experiences and the experiences of other mums I talk to isn’t just anecdote, it’s supported by inquiries like this one: which found poor care in maternity services is “frequently tolerated as normal”, and poor quality postnatal care is an “almost universal theme” (well you can say that again.) Once again there’s a theme of women just not being listened to. And that’s particularly the case if you’re a woman from a non white background. Maternal mortality for black women is currently almost four times higher than for white women. And if you’re still not radicalised like me yet, how about this statistic: 1 in 5 stillbirths and neonatal deaths may have been prevented with better care, according to the charity Sands. This equates to over 800 babies a year - over 25 classrooms of children whose lives could have been saved. Victoria Atkins, the Health Secretary, has told Sky News today that there’s a three year plan and we’re in a transition period. And look, I welcome today’s report, of course I do. But I’ve got a horrible feeling that this will end up being just another report into poor maternity care that’s swept under the carpet. When really we need to be demanding serious change. Because THIS is an absolute scandal. We'll have more on tonight's #PoliticsHub 7pm