This survey looked at the experiences of pregnant women and new mothers who used NHS maternity services in 2024.
Women who gave birth between 1 and 29 February 2024 (and during January if a trust did not have a minimum of 300 eligible births in February) were invited to participate. Fieldwork took place between May and August 2024, and responses were received from 18,951 people, a response rate of 41%.
What we found
The 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.
Positive results
Antenatal care
- More women were asked about their mental health during antenatal check-ups (76% said they were ‘definitely’ asked compared with 75% in 2023). There has been steady improvement seen in this question area over the past five years.
- Eighty-nine per cent of people surveyed said they received mental health support as part of their antenatal care compared with 88% in 2023, and 85% in 2022.
- Most of those surveyed (83%) also said that their midwives ‘always’ listened to them, that they were ‘always’ spoken to in a way they could understand (88%), and they were ‘always’ involved in decisions about their antenatal care (80%).
Labour and birth
- More people surveyed felt they were given appropriate information on the risks associated with an induced labour prior to being induced (74% in 2024 compared with 69% in 2023).
Postnatal care
- Respondents reporting that their partner or someone else close to them was able to stay as much as they wanted in hospital after the birth increased from 56% in 2023 to 63% in 2024.
Key areas for improvement
Confidence and trust
- Fewer people said they ‘definitely’ had confidence and trust in the staff providing their antenatal care (70% in 2024 compared with 71% in 2023), during labour and birth (77% in 2024 compared with 78% in 2023) and postnatally (69% in 2024 compared with 72% in 2023).
Communications and interactions with staff
- A quarter (25%) of respondents felt they did not have the opportunity to ask questions after their baby was born.
- Only 58% of people surveyed said they were ‘always’ given the information and explanations needed in hospital after birth (compared to 60% in 2023).
- Fewer people reported ‘always’ feeling listened to by staff providing postnatal care after leaving hospital (75% in 2024 compared with 77% in 2023).
Availability of staff
- There has 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 72% in 2019) and in those who said they were ‘always’ spoken to by staff in a way they could understand (85% in 2024 and 90% in 2019).
- Just over half (60%) of people surveyed said they saw or spoke to a midwife as much as they wanted after the birth (down from 63% in 2023).
How experience varies for different groups of people
Subgroup analysis of this year’s survey results show disparities in different demographic groups experiences of maternity care. Women reported poorer experiences of care if they had an emergency caesarean birth , were younger (aged 16 to 26), or had pelvic health problems or another pregnancy-related condition. Other groups reporting poorer experiences of care include those who had an assisted vaginal delivery and had a planned caesarean birth.
Women who reported their ethnicity as ‘Indian’, ‘Pakistani’ and ‘any other White background’ reported poorer experiences including not feeling listened to and not receiving help during their antenatal and postnatal care. Women with a long-term mental health condition reported poorer experiences around feeling listened to during their antenatal care as well as in the confidence and trust they felt in the staff caring for them during labour and birth.
Results for NHS trusts
A-Z list of maternity survey results by NHS trust
Each trust has been provided with a benchmark report, which provides: detail of the survey methodology, headline results, the trust score for each evaluative question, banding for how a trust score compares with other trusts and historical data (where available).
View these reports on the NHS surveys website.
Reports
Open data
Supporting information
How will results be used?
We will use the results from the survey to build on our understanding of the risk and quality of services and those who organise care across an area. Where survey findings provide evidence of a change to the level of risk or quality in a service, provider or system, we use the results alongside other sources of people’s experience data to inform targeted assessment activities.
Other organisations
NHS trusts
Trusts, and those who commission services, use the results to identify and make the changes they need to improve the experience of people who use their services.
NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care
Information collected nationally in a consistent way is essential to support public and Parliamentary accountability. The results are used by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care for performance assessment, improvement and regulatory purposes.