CQC publishes findings of its latest national maternity survey
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.
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).
Local results
You can look up local experience by searching through this alphabetic list on the CQC website.
