More women are reporting positive interactions with maternity staff, according to findings of a national survey by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). But some areas of experience – either before, during or after birth – remain worse than they were five years ago the regulator said.
More than 25,500 women answered the 2023 national maternity survey.
Key findings:
- 83% said midwives providing antenatal care ‘always’ listened to them (up from 80% in 2022)
- 85% of women felt they were given appropriate advice and support when they contacted a midwife during early labour (up from 82%)
- 80% of women felt any concerns they raised during labour and birth were taken seriously by staff (up from 77%)
- 88% felt they were given support for their mental health during pregnancy (up from 85%)
However, some aspects of care had declined:
- Only 55% of women said they were ‘always’ able to get a member of staff to help them when they needed it while in hospital after giving birth (down from 57% in 2022) and 10% couldn’t get any help at all.
- 63% said they saw or spoke to a midwife as much as they wanted after giving birth, (down from 73% five years ago).
The CQC said in-depth analysis of the results also showed that women who had more frequent antenatal visits were more likely to report positive experiences. Women with a long-term mental health condition reported lower levels of confidence and trust in staff or felt like they were treated with respect, which echoes our own findings in 2023 about the experience of pregnant women and new mothers with ongoing mental health needs.
Local results
