Help during childbirth has declined, survey finds

As reported by the BBC, women’s experiences of care when giving birth have worsened in the last five years, says a report by England’s health and care regulator, the Care Quality Commission

A survey of 20,000 women found ‘a concerning decline’ in getting help when most needed during labour and after childbirth. Whilst the overall satisfaction is high and mental health support in pregnancy is rising, the safety of maternity services has come under scrutiny in recent years.

A report from March 2022 into one hospital trust found that more than 200 babies might have survived if better maternity care had been given.

The CQC asked thousands of women about their experience of giving birth in February 2022, and compared the results with previous years.

From the responses, 71% were always treated with kindness and understanding after the birth of their baby in hospital, which is down from 74% in 2017

Out of the thousands of women, 78% definitely had confidence in staff involved during their labour and baby’s birth, but only 57% were always able to get a member of staff to help after childbirth, which is down from 62% in 2019.

Only 63% were able to get help when they needed it during labour and birth, which is down from 72% in 2019, 23% said they were not taken seriously if they raised concerns during labour or birth, which is up from 19% in 2017, and 19% said they were not offered any choice about where to have their baby.

“These results show that far too many women feel their care could have been better,” said director of secondary and specialist care at the CQC, Victoria Vallance.

She said it was vital for staff at individual trusts to understand what makes a good experience, and what needs to improve.

But there was also recognition that the survey results reflected ‘increasing pressures on frontline staff’ as they try to provide high-quality care with available resources.

The CQC said a new programme of maternity inspections had recently begun in NHS hospitals across England which will have ‘a strong focus on capturing the experience of women and families’.