Maternity Survey 2024

The CQC has published its latest national maternity survey looking at the experiences of 18,900 pregnant women and new mothers who used NHS maternity services in 2024. Whilst it is encouraging to see that there have been improvements in mental health support, the survey also highlights that more can be done to ensure that everyone has a positive, personalised maternity experience.

Areas of Improvement

The survey found that this year the areas of improvement were:

1. Antenatal care 
   • More women were asked about their mental health (76%) and received mental health support (89%).
   • Most women said that their midwives “always” listened to them (83%),  that they were “always” spoken to in a way they could understand (88%) and were “always” involved in decisions about antenatal care.
2. Labour and birth
   • More people felt that they were given appropriate information on the risks associated with an induced labour prior to being induced (74%).
3. Postnatal care 
   • More women reported that their partner or someone close to them was able to stay as much as they wanted in hospital after the birth (63%).

Areas for improvement 

The survey found that the areas for improvement were:

1. Confidence and trust 
   • Fewer people said they “definitely” had confidence and trust in the staff providing their antenatal care (70%), during labour and birth (77%) and postnatally (69%).
2. Communications and interactions with staff
   • 25% felt that they did not have the opportunity to ask questions after their baby was born.
   • 58% said they were "always" given the information and explanations needed in hospital after birth.
   • Less people reported "always" feeling listened to by staff providing postnatal care after leaving hospital.
3. Availability of Staff
   • There has been a 5 year downward trend in 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).
   • Less people (60%) said they saw or spoke to a midwife as much as they wanted after the birth.

Results for different demographic groups

Women reported poorer experience of care if they:

• Had an emergency caesarean birth,
• Were younger (16 – 26),
• Had pelvic health problems or another pregnancy related condition,
• Had an assisted vaginal delivery,
• Had a planned caesarean birth,
• Reported their ethnicity as “Indian”, “Pakistani” and “any other White background”,
• Had a long-term mental health condition.

Results for NHS Trusts

There is an A-Z list of maternity survey results by NHS Trust and each trust has been provided with a benchmark report which can be used to build an understanding of risk and to drive quality improvement initiatives. 

How can we help?

If you would like to discuss the issues raised in this survey in more detail, please get in touch with Joanne Easterbrook or Dan Morris.