Many women are positive about their maternity care, but improvements still needed
Findings from the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) national survey of more than 17,600 women who gave birth in February last year show that many had a good experience, including in relation to interactions with staff
Interactions with staff, access to midwives and emotional support during pregnancy were cited as positive aspects of the care received
However, for some women the care they received fell short of expectations with issues highlighted around continuity of care, choice in antenatal and postnatal services and access to help, information and support after giving birth.
Highlighted responses to the 2018 survey include the following notable trends:
- Most women (82%) said that during their antenatal check-ups the midwives they saw ‘always’ listened to them (unchanged from 2017, but up from 79% in 2013 and 2015) and more women in 2018 (68%) said they were asked how they felt emotionally during their antenatal care (up from 64% in 2017 and 57% in 2015).
- 88% of women surveyed said that they were ‘always’ treated with respect and dignity during labour and birth (the same as in 2017, but slightly up from 86% who said this in 2015 and 85% in 2013).
- More women in the 2018 survey (71%) said their partner or someone else close to them could stay with them as much as they wanted during their stay in hospital (69% in 2017 and 63% in 2015).
- In 2018, more than nine in ten women (97%) said that during their pregnancy they had a telephone number for a midwife or midwifery team that they could contact. Of those who tried to contact a midwife during their pregnancy, just under three-quarters (73%) ‘always’ got the help that they needed. These results have remained stable over time.
