Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital's neonatal unit has become the first in the North East to achieve Gold Bliss Baby Charter accreditation for its family-centred approach to neonatal care.

The government will appoint the UK's first maternity and neonatal commissioner and invest an additional £41m to improve the safety and consistency of maternity and neonatal care across England.

Three neonatal units have joined the Ickle Pickles Pledge, supporting a fundraising initiative that helps provide essential equipment for babies and their families.

A new Neonatal Virtual Ward at Royal Derby Hospital is enabling babies with jaundice to receive phototherapy treatment at home, helping families avoid unnecessary hospital stays.

A research study led by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has shown strong support for offering cervical screening earlier in the postnatal period. The PINCS-1 study is a clinical research trial investigating ways to improve cervical screening uptake for new mothers by offering tests earlier.

A Belfast Health and Social Care Trust nurse has been named RCN Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year 2026 in recognition of her outstanding work improving eye care for premature babies. Linda Hamilton and her team introduced a ‘zero-fail’ system to boost screening effectiveness.

Newly qualified midwives in England will have access to an extra 1,000 new roles by the end of 2026 after the Royal College of Midwives secured funding from the Government following a hard-fought campaign. The RCM has also secured a commitment from the Government on safe staffing talks.

Nine new machines are improving care for expectant and new mums who need continuous monitoring across maternity services at Basildon Hospital, part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. An upgrade of continuous monitoring equipment for expectant and new mums was made possible thanks to more than £40,000 donated by Mid and South Essex Hospitals Charity.

Sir Gareth Southgate has performed the ribbon cutting ceremony of a major £21.9m redevelopment project for Martin House Children’s Hospice. It has modernised and expanded the Boston Spa hospice, creating new facilities for children and young people with life-shortening conditions, and their families.

A partnership between the charity Ickle Pickles and healthcare equipment provider Central Medical Supplies, which has already raised nearly £6,000, wil continue for another year, with the aim of recruiting two peer support officers for neonatal units at Lewisham and Portsmouth hospitals.

Michelle Welsh MP has been appointed as the government's first Maternity Adviser. Her own childbirth experience has strengthened her determination to fight for safer, more compassionate maternity care for every family. She will work with families, the government, the NHS and key maternity organisations.

On 5 May 2026, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust celebrated International Day of the Midwife. This year’s theme was ‘One million more midwives’, highlighting the urgent global shortage of nearly 980,000 midwives.