Released on: 29 January 2019
In response to today’s findings from the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) survey of women who gave birth in February last year, Elizabeth Duff, Senior Policy Adviser, NCT, said:
“It’s good to see so many women are positive about their maternity experiences but there is still much work to be done. We’re really concerned that there has been no improvement in some key areas of maternity care, such as women being left alone in labour, and worsening conditions in others, such as not seeing a midwife often enough and not getting enough information after birth.
“It’s disappointing to see so many women still reporting inadequate postnatal care. We’d like to see far more ambition to improve this crucial area.
“NCT Research found almost one in five women (18%) did not see a midwife as often as they needed postnatally, resulting in delayed diagnoses of health problems at a critical time for mothers and babies. Of these, 29% of women were forced to visit their GP, walk-in centre, or even an A&E department instead.
“The government’s commitment to increase the number of women receiving care from a midwife they know and trust is welcome, but these findings show there is a long way to go to provide the continuity of carer women need.”
Ends
¹ Support Overdue, a report from the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) and NCT, January 2017.
