Primary and acute care
Midwifery expert witnesses
Listed midwifery expert witnesses address antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care delivered by midwives, including risk assessment, monitoring in labour and escalation to obstetric review. The standard applied is that of a competent registered midwife.
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The evidence
What a midwifery expert witness is asked to determine
Midwifery evidence is closely tied to the contemporaneous record: the partogram, fetal monitoring trace, risk assessments and the timing of each escalation. Where the criticism concerns escalation, the question is what the midwife recorded and when, rather than what the obstetric team later decided.
- Whether antenatal risk assessment identified the factors the history and observations disclosed.
- Whether monitoring in labour was undertaken and interpreted in line with the risk category recorded.
- Whether escalation to obstetric or neonatal review took place when the findings indicated it.
- Whether care in the immediate postnatal period, including observation of mother and baby, met the expected standard.
- Where a midwifery opinion ends and an obstetric or neonatal opinion is required.
Practitioners are listed across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Location can be narrowed in the register’s location listings before an instruction is made.
Claim contexts
Claims that instruct this discipline
These links describe the question midwifery evidence can answer. They do not prescribe the scope of an individual instruction.
Birth injury and cerebral palsy claims
Intrapartum monitoring and escalation preceding an adverse outcome.
View claim type → 02Clinical negligence claims
Midwifery assessment, monitoring and postnatal care.
View claim type → 03Inquests
Evidence following maternal or neonatal death where midwifery care is examined.
View claim type →Search the register by the discipline used in the instruction.
See midwifery listingsReport routes
Reports prepared
Maternity records support a records review report at an early stage, which often determines whether the criticism lies with midwifery or obstetric care. A breach and causation report separates the standard question from the outcome alleged.
Obstetric, neonatal and paediatric neurology evidence is commonly instructed alongside a midwifery opinion. What each route addresses is set out on the report pages.
Midwifery expert witness evidence
A midwife expert witness reads the maternity record against the standard expected of a registered midwife, and identifies the point at which responsibility passed to the obstetric team.
The register lists the discipline and location; everything beyond that is agreed with the practitioner. See guidance from Royal College of Midwives alongside the case material.
Directory search
Midwifery listings
Midwifery Expert Witness Cases & Claims
Related expert witness specialties
Questions answered
Frequently asked questions
Will a Midwifery expert witness respond to Part 35 questions?
Yes - CPR 35.6 entitles the parties to put written questions on a report, and answering them is part of the expert's duty to the court. A Midwifery report prepared for proceedings in England and Wales carries the Part 35 statement of truth, with equivalent duties applying in the other UK jurisdictions.
Can a Midwifery expert act as a single joint expert?
Where the court directs a single joint expert under CPR 35.7, the instruction is agreed between the parties and put jointly - a routine basis of instruction in this field. Whether a particular practitioner accepts SJE appointments is confirmed with the practitioner at the enquiry stage.
Will the expert attend joint discussions or give evidence at trial?
Where the court directs discussions between experts under CPR 35.12, they meet and produce a joint statement of what is agreed and what is disputed; attendance at trial - in person or by video link - is likewise a matter of court direction. These commitments are confirmed with the practitioner at instruction.
Can I choose a Midwifery expert of a specific gender, or one who assesses remotely?
Yes on both counts. Every listing displays the practitioner's gender, consulting locations and assessment types - face to face, remote or both - so sensitive-instruction preferences can be applied at the shortlisting stage, before any contact is made.