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Tracy Lee-Southon, mum to Noah (6) and Naomi (3)
parents in the area. In addition, Amber introduced an assessment for NCT practitioners, which is still used today.
Inspired by her NCT work and her husband’s first heart attack, Amber founded the charity Relaxation for Living in 1972. It aimed to help people cope with the stresses and strains of everyday life, and was the UK’s first relaxation charity. She is described as ‘a pioneer of relaxation techniques’ and produced a popular leaflet on breathing that helped many pregnant women through labour.
We - and the many families she supported - are indebted to the contribution of this remarkable woman.
Amber and her husband, Desmond, lived in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, where they raised their family. Amber is survived by her 6 children, 14 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
NCT waves warning flag over maternity care crisis
The latest report from NCT reveals a crisis in maternity care. While many new mums get fantastic support from
midwives, others don’t get the quality of care they need.
NCT worked with the National Federation of Women’s Institutes to look at the survey responses from these women and updated a similar joint report from 2013. The report, ‘Support Overdue: Women’s experiences of maternity services 2017′, is based on the experiences of nearly 2,500 women, including hundreds of NCT members.
Early January 2017 brought the sad passing of ‘relaxation pioneer’, Amber Lloyd, who played a significant part in NCT’s history.
In 1956, Amber Lloyd answered the Times advert placed by NCT’s founder, Prunella Briance, inviting like-minded women to form an organisation to promote the work of Grantly Dick-Read, a British obstetrician who disagreed with the increased medicalisation of birth.
It was the beginning of what would become NCT, and Amber made a significant contribution in the charity’s formative years. She provided tireless support to new mums for over 15 years. Among her many achievements, she established the first local branch in Walton and Weybridge and also set up a twins group for struggling
We pay tribute to founding NCT member Amber Lloyd
Dangerously low staffing levels mean that half of women (50%) experience at least one ’red-flag event’ during childbirth. These ‘red flag events’ are signs that there may not be enough midwives available to give women and babies the care they need. This includes having to wait more than 30 minutes to get pain relief or over an hour to have stitches.