Just under 0.1% of births in England in the decade since 2000 resulted in injuries that led to NHS paying out for damages, says the NHS Litigation Authority.1

In total, compensation claims linked to maternity care led to £3.1bn (€3.9bn; $5bn) in payouts—the most for any specialty—with the largest share of awards (40%) being paid out for cerebral palsy.

In its report the authority said that junior doctors and inexperienced midwives were often involved in the labour of the 5087 cases that resulted in claims and that they had not had adequate assistance from senior clinicians.

Having more senior staff available during labour, together with a better understanding among junior staff …