Nearly one in five women in childbirth or labour feel their concerns are not taken seriously by NHS maternity services, new research has found.
The Quality Care Commission (CQC) surveyed 16,750 women who gave birth in February about the NHS maternity service care they received while pregnant, in hospital during and after labour, and once at home in the weeks after their baby’s birth.
The results suggested improvements in some areas of NHS maternity care, but key issues remain.
Fifteen per cent of those who took part in the survey felt they were not given appropriate advice and support when they contacted a midwife or the hospital at the start of their labour.
And nearly one in five (18%) reported that they felt that they were not taken seriously if they raised a concern during their labour and birth. Both figures were unchanged from the previous year.
The survey also found that one in 10 women reported being left alone at a time when it worried them, either during the later stages of labour or during birth, the was figure unchanged from 2021.
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The CQC found that slightly more women had a good experience in several areas compared to previous surveys.
Some 89% said they were always spoken to in a way they could understand by staff providing antenatal care during pregnancy (up from 88% last year).
And 81% were always given enough time to ask questions or discuss their pregnancy (up from 80% in 2024 and 73% in 2021), while 77% felt they were always involved in decisions about their care during labour and birth (up from 75% in 2024).
Far more women said their husband, partner or someone close was able to stay with them as much as they wanted after the birth (72% compared to 63% last year).
There were also slight improvements on women being asked about their mental health and knowing who to contact if they were having problems.
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How do different NHS trusts compare for maternity care?
The report identifies the proportion of NHS trusts where people’s experiences were better or worse than would be expected compared to other trusts.
Overall, around one in 10 trusts were classified as performing worse than the standard on postnatal care in the ward – only 6% performed better.
Six trusts achieved “worse than expected” results overall, while two achieved “much worse than expected results”. Five were characterised as better than expected, down from eight last year.
The share of c-section births has been rising steadily. In 2023/24, two in five births were c-sections, according to NHS maternity data from 2023/24 – an increase from one in four a decade earlier. More than half of caesareans (56%) were classed as emergency or unplanned c-sections.
Women who saw same midwife had more positive experiences
Overall, 57% of women were always able to get a member of staff to help them when they needed it while in hospital after birth, but one in 10 said they could not get help when they needed it at all – figures largely unchanged from 2021.
Seven per cent of women said they were sent home once when they were worried about themselves or their baby, with 3% saying this happened more than once.
Women who saw the same midwife throughout their pregnancy tended to be more positive about their experiences, but those from the most deprived neighbourhoods were less likely to feel treated with dignity and respect.
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The data comes after the head of a maternity review said NHS maternity units are delivering “unacceptable care” – with some women left to “bleed out” in bathrooms and babies suffering avoidable deaths.
