Impact - Why we do surveys

We do maternity surveys on behalf of the government to help us understand how health and care around the time of pregnancy and childbirth can be improved for women and families. When women respond to our surveys it helps policy makers decide what needs to change to make things better for women and families.

Here are some examples:

Continuity of care from midwives

Our surveys have shown that too many women do not have continuity of care - this is when women are seen throughout pregnancy and birth by a team of midwives. This evidence was included in a National Maternity Review in England, which outlined how maternity care needed to improve with a 5-year plan. Since the review was published in 2016, we found a large increase in the number of women who had a named midwife or clinical team during pregnancy (from 68% in 2014 to 86% in 2020) and after giving birth (from 77% in 2014 to 82% in 2020) (read report).

Choice around childbirth

Our surveys have shown that too many women are not offered choice around place and type of childbirth. This evidence was also included in a National Maternity Review in England which outlined how maternity care needed to improve with a 5 year plan. Since the review was published in 2016, another survey found an increase in the number of women offered a choice in where they can have their baby.

Mental health

There is no information collected routinely in England on how many women have mental health problems during pregnancy or after giving birth. Our surveys ask women about their mental health, so we can fill this gap. Our survey in 2018 estimated how many women experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress after giving birth and the findings were included in the Scottish Clinical Guidelines for Perinatal Mental Health highlighting the issue and ensuring action was taken to improve care.

By comparing the findings from our surveys over time, we saw that more and more women are experiencing mental health problems, such as depression, following childbirth. A summary of these findings has been fed back to those who decide maternity policy in England. Our finding that more women experienced post-traumatic stress during the pandemic was included in a 2024 report by an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Birth Trauma. The Group investigated the reasons for birth trauma and developed policy recommendations to reduce the rate of birth trauma.

Our surveys have also shown that too many women are not asked about their mental health during pregnancy or after giving birth. This evidence was included in a National Maternity Review in England. One of the recommendations from the review was for better mental health care in pregnancy and following childbirth. Since the review was published in 2016, we found the number of women being asked about their mental health during pregnancy increased from 80% in 2014 to 83% in 2020 (read summary). Another survey also found an increase in the number of women being asked about mental health by their midwife during pregnancy and an increase in women able to access support.

Breastfeeding

We know how many babies in England are breastfed and formula fed in the first 6-8 weeks, but there is no information collected routinely about how babies are fed after 6-8 weeks. Our survey in 2018 showed how many women breastfed their baby up to 6 months. These findings (read summary) were included in a National Report on Medicines used in Pregnancy.

Our survey in 2020 also showed that the number of women who breastfed their baby did not change very much during the pandemic, despite the many changes to maternity and breastfeeding services during the pandemic. These findings (read summary) have been highlighted in local public health data.

Vaping

We know how many mothers in England smoke in pregnancy, but there is no routinely collected information on vaping in pregnancy. Since 2018, we have been collecting this information in our surveys so that we now know how many women vape in pregnancy (read summary) and how that number is changing over time. This is important because we are still unsure about the impact of vaping on pregnancy.

Maternity care changes during the pandemic

We looked at the comments about maternity care from more than 4,000 women who took part in our 2020 survey. The comments were analysed to understand the impact of the pandemic changes to maternity care on women's mental health, emotional wellbeing, and satisfaction with care. The findings were fed back to those who develop maternity policy in England (read summary). In time we will be ablet o see how this impacts changes in maternity policy.

Inequalities in maternity care

Our surveys have helped to highlight inequalities in the maternity care women receive. Our finding that women from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities are less likely to access high-quality perinatal education was included in a UK Government report, which outlined the actions needed to reduce the inequality of outcomes for women from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities and their babies..

Findings from our surveys which showed ethnic differences in women's worries about labour and birth were also included in the FiveXMore report, which has been used to lobby the government and make recommendations to the NHS.

Research like ours, and from others focussing on inequalities has resulted in the establishing of the £50million NIHR Challenge - Maternity Inequalities Consortium.