The NHS should try out personal maternity care budgets to give pregnant women "more control" over their care, a major review of services says today.
The review arose from the scandal at Morecambe Bay, where an inquiry linked professional conflicts to neonatal and maternity deaths.
It calls for "multi-professional learning" for obstetricians and midwives, pre-registration and post-registration, arguing that those who "work together should train together."
It also calls for local maternity "systems" to cover populations of at least half a million, working to agreed standards and protocols.
The review team, led by Baroness Julia Cumberlege, also calls for more personalised care, continuity of care and improved post-natal and perinatal mental health care.
It also sets out how care should be made safer, calling for a standardised national investigation process for when things go wrong.
There should also be rapid referral protocols to ensure women and babies have access to specialist care when they need it.
Baroness Cumberlege said: "Women have told us they want to be given genuine choices and have the same person looking after them throughout their care.
"We must ensure that all care is as safe as the best and we need to break down boundaries and work together to reduce the variation in the quality of services and provide a good experience for all women.”
The Royal College of Paediatrics and College Health welcomed a proposal for a review of neonatal services.
President Professor Neena Modi said: "But as specifically recommended in the Report of the Morecambe Bay Investigation this should be a larger national review of the provision of all neonatal and paediatric services, especially in challenging circumstances such as remote and rural areas.”
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