The CQC report should make worrying reading for NHS leaders.
It certainly does for expectant mothers and their loved ones.
There have been marginal improvements (usually by one or two percentage points) in some areas of care, such as better communication around antenatal care or women being given enough time to ask questions about their pregnancies.
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But what is clear is that far too many women felt they were not listened to or felt unsafe when left unattended at important times during labour.
The most disappointing thing about these findings is that this is exactly what has been exposed during one maternity scandal after another.
Mothers feeling unsafe, their worries brushed aside and having actions imposed on them without proper explanation.
Sky News has been inundated by similar messages from mothers failed by NHS maternity services.
One in five women in childbirth and labour feel concerns are not taken seriously
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We analysed 169 birth trauma stories and one of the most common themes represented was people feeling like they were being ignored, neglected or left alone by medical staff, or that their feelings and experiences were being dismissed.
Others said that staffing levels on maternity wards were not sufficient or that doctors, nurses and midwives were overstretched.
Read more on maternity failings:
Your birth stories
‘Nothing prepared me for this’
‘We weren’t listened to’
Others mentioned being forced into surgery or other medical procedures either against their will or that they think contributed to worse health outcomes for either them or their child.
Expectant mothers must not feel unsafe or feel that their unborn child will not receive the care they deserve.
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Each successive report draws the same conclusion.
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We know the problems. NHS maternity care needs urgent intervention.
