Maternity services

Around 600,000 women give birth in England every year. Choosing where and how to give birth is an important decision. Maternity services are managed by NHS trusts, but maternity care can also be provided by GPs or at home. On this page you can find out about the quality of services in your area, and about our work to help make sure that women and babies everywhere receive a good standard of care.


Taking an in-depth look at services

In 2007 we reviewed maternity services throughout England. Although we found that most women were positive about the care they received, improvements were still needed – both during pregnancy and after giving birth. We also found that the quality of care varied widely in different areas of the country.

What mothers told us

To find out more about women's experiences of maternity care, we surveyed all of the women in England who gave birth in an NHS unit in February 2007. They praised the overall quality of care provided, but our survey also highlighted some areas of concern, including varying standards of postnatal care, food and cleanliness.

More about our findings from the survey of mothers in England

Related links

Find out more about our work on maternity services

Are you unhappy about the maternity care you received?

We review patients' complaints about healthcare that have not been resolved by the trust involved.

Useful sites

Other information about local maternity services

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