God’s heart for grieving mothers this Christmas in the light of the NHS maternity care report

It was a chilling report that hit the headlines recently about the ‘unacceptable care’ and the resulting ‘tragic consequences’ for mothers and babies receiving NHS maternity care services. Unfortunately, this is not a new story in the history of NHS maternity care. Urgent improvements in the services have been slow in coming, according to the latest report, by Baroness Valerie Amos, who is leading the national maternity and neonatal investigation (NMNI).

The scale of the problem is evident in the 748 recommendations related to  maternity and neonatal care that have been documented over the past decade. ‘Staggering’ indeed, as Baroness Amos described the situation. In her report, she said, “Nothing prepared me for the scale of unacceptable care that women and families have received, and continue to receive, the tragic consequences for their babies, and the impact on their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.”

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At this time of year, as we approach the Christmas season, the impact may be particularly harrowing for mothers, as well as their immediate and extended families, who may be experiencing the loss of a baby through negligence or other trauma associated with the failings.

I could not help but think that, though our cultures are separated by more than 2,000 years, Mary, the mother of Jesus, would have been able to empathise with the mothers today who have been affected by these circumstances.

As I listened to the reports, I could not help but think that, though our cultures are separated by more than 2,000 years, Mary, the mother of Jesus, would have been able to empathise with the mothers today who have been affected by these circumstances. By today’s standards, Mary’s maternity experience was also less than ideal.

There she was, in an unsanitized stable, without home comforts and perhaps without even the support of a midwife. 

There she was, in an unsanitized stable, without home comforts and perhaps without even the support of a midwife. Not only at the point of delivery were her circumstances less than ideal but throughout her pregnancy, she would have had to deal with some degree of fallout from a culture who regarded sexual impurity as a misdemeanour that could warrant the death penalty. And then, after Jesus’ birth, she and Joseph had the task of keeping the baby safe from a king who would stop at nothing to have the baby eliminated.

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Countless families in Bethlehem were also impacted by the state of affairs when Herod had every single baby boy who was two years old or younger in Bethlehem murdered in an effort to kill Jesus (Matt. 2:16). The heartfelt cry of bereaved mothers is captured in Matt. 2:18:

“A voice…heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more.”

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Sometimes, I wonder how Mary must have felt to know that all these other babies were killed on account of her doing everything to save hers. It could have been the perfect recipe for guilt and emotional trauma for her. The more I think about it, the more I realise that the first Christmas was an extremely dark time, and especially for mothers.

But God never left Mary alone. She had a direct word from him from the very beginning and I assume she would have drawn on this in those moments when things felt too much: “Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you…Do not be afraid, Mary…” (Luke 1:28, 30).

Mary may have been unique in that she was favoured to be the mother of Jesus but she shares our humanity and God cared for her as much as he cared for the many women who lost children then at the hands of Herod and as much as he cares for every mother and family today who may be grieving because things have not gone well regarding the birth and growth of their babies.

As Mary had words she could have leaned on in the midst of her struggles, God has given us words that ring through the ages to support and comfort us today.

Psalms 56:8 says: “You number my wanderings; Put my tears into your bottle; are they not in your book?”

These words assure us that God takes note of every tear that runs down a cheek…the tears of Mary…the tears of the mothers in Ramah…and thousands of years later, the tears of hurting and grieving mothers today.