NHS Maternity Services Survey

The Maternity Services Survey is run nationally every year to provide an overview of how women, birthing people and their families feel about the quality of the maternity services they experienced.

The most recent surveys were conducted during the period from 01/02/24 to 29/02/2024. Individual Trust reports (as linked to below) outline overall performance against metrics, compare results with those of previous years and assess against regional and national performance.

The overall national summary report from the Care Quality Commission can be found here.

At a national level the 2024 maternity survey shows some areas of improvement over the past year, particularly regarding access to mental health support during pregnancy. However, there remain other aspects of maternity care where people report a poorer experience and where analysis indicates a longer term decline in positive feedback over time, including communication during labour and birth, information provided during care in hospital after birth and involvement in postnatal care.

Themes with trends of decline include:

Confidence and trust

In 2024, 70% said they ‘definitely’ had confidence and trust in staff compared with 71% in 2023. There has also been a similar decline in the number of people who said they ‘definitely’ had trust and confidence in staff during labour and birth (77% in 2024 from 78% in 2023) and postnatally (69% in 2024 from 72% in 2023).

Communications and interactions with staff

Fourteen per cent of respondents said staff did not do everything they could to help manage pain during labour and birth. Furthermore, a quarter (25%) of respondents felt they did not have the opportunity to ask questions after their baby was born, and only 58% of people surveyed said they were ‘always’ given the information and explanations needed (compared to 60% in 2023).

Availability of staff

There has also been a five year downward trend in the number of people reporting that they were ‘always’ able to get help from staff during labour and birth (64% in 2024) and in those who said they were ‘always’ spoken to by staff in a way they could understand (85% in 2024).

NHS Maternity Services Survey

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