2020 Survey

The 2020 National Maternity Survey explored the health and experiences of maternity care for women who gave birth in England in May 2020, which was during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey recruited women through the Office for National Statistics using the register of all births in England. Women were invited to take part in the survey six months after giving birth and a total of 4,611 women returned postal or online questionnaires, a response rate of 29%.

For the first time in 2020, a parallel Social Media Survey was carried out alongside the 2020 National Maternity Survey. Women who gave birth in the UK between March and August 2020 were invited to take part in the survey through social media platforms.

The 2020 National Maternity Survey and Social Media Survey found that some aspects of women's health and maternity care remained consistent or even improved during Covid-19, compared with findings from before the pandemic. Overall levels of satisfaction with care during pregnancy and birth remained high. The findings also indicate, however, that other aspects of women's health and care were negatively impacted by Covid-19, particularly after giving birth. Overall levels of satisfaction with care during the postnatal period fell considerably compared with findings from before the pandemic. Taken together the survey findings suggest that giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic may have brought additional stresses for women and families at what can already be a challenging time. Covid-19 may have introduced new challenges to maternity services and also amplified some of the existing problems in parts of the system.

A report of the overall findings from the 2020 National Maternity Survey and Social Media Survey (“You and Your Baby 2020”) and infographic summaries of the key findings are available to download here: