Jessie Buckley, Judi Dench and famous mums call on Mumsnet to demand maternity care in Gaza

High-profile mothers including Dames Judi Dench, Joanna Lumley, Imelda Staunton and Meera Syal, Oscar nominee Jessie Buckley and Juliet Stevenson are calling on Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts to urge UK government to help maternity care enter Gaza.  

Six new mobile maternity units are blocked from entering Gaza. The units were part-funded by the UK and Irish public and are currently being held in Egypt.  

Newborn mortality rates in Gaza increased by 75% between 2022 and 2025, according to Unicef. The organisation says it admitted 8,300 pregnant and breastfeeding women in Gaza for treatment for acute malnutrition in October 2025 alone. 

Read more:

• How will the world look back on the ruin of Gaza?
• For people in Gaza, ceasefire has changed little. 2026 must see a real end to the violence
• Gaza’s children need more than a ceasefire. We need to give them hope for a safe future

Israel is refusing to let non-governmental organisations (NGOs) enter Gaza without meeting strict re-registration requirements, citing security concerns. This means at present NGOs including Save the Children, Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières – which supports the deliveries of one in three babies in Gaza – must exit by 1 March.  

In December, the United Nations and 200 NGOs issued a group statement saying the re-registration process “imposes requirements that humanitarian organisations cannot meet without violating international legal obligations, or compromising core humanitarian principles.” 

With over eight million monthly users, Mumsnet represents a significant part of the UK population. Founder Justine Roberts has met with successive prime ministers to lobby on behalf of mothers.  

Mumsnet’s most recent manifesto includes calls for the government to provide a statutory inquiry into maternity care; immediate action to tackle birth trauma; breastfeeding support, and to “make women and girls safe”. 

The open letter from famous mothers, which also calls for menstrual and hygiene supplies to be allowed to enter Gaza, drew both support and criticism from Mumsnet members.  

While many were in support of its goals, others objected to Roberts and the UK-based Mumsnet forum being publicly asked to take a view on an international conflict.  

The organisers told the Big Issue that they contacted Roberts privately before the letter was officially released, and that Roberts has agreed to meet with the organisers to discuss the issues raised.

Speaking to the Big Issue, co-organiser Cressida Brown said: “We’re talking about sanitary pads and a place to give birth. This isn’t a foreign policy issue. It’s a humanitarian issue. 

“If it can happen there, it can happen here. We should be standing up for mothers everywhere. If we turn a blind eye to one group of mothers, we are putting ourselves in a dangerous position as well.”  

Pressure is also ramping up on the Irish government to help the maternity units enter Gaza. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions recently (12 January) urged Irish government to engage with its Israeli counterparts.  

Phil Ni Sheaghdha, general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said: “These essential purpose-built mobile maternity units [are] needed to provide the most fundamental care to women and infants in Gaza. It is inexplicable that they would be denied entry at the border.” 

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