Maternity Care Survey 2025: national report
Findings on women's experiences of antenatal care, labour and birth, care in hospital or a midwife-led unit, care in a neonatal unit, care at home / in the community and feeding their baby.
Care at home / in the community in the first 10 days after the birth
Nine in ten women (90%) rated the overall care they received at home or in the community in the first ten days after the birth as “excellent” or “good.” This is the same as in 2018.
Continuity of care
Figure 12: The percentage of women who saw the same midwife for their antenatal and postnatal care all or some of the time has increased from 46% in 2018 to 59% in 2025. The percentage of women who did not mind not seeing the same midwife has declined more steeply than those that would have liked to.
Seeing the same midwife for antenatal and postnatal care, 2025, weighted percentages.
Of the women that contacted a midwife or midwifery team after they returned home, 97% were given the help they needed all or some of the time. This is similar to 96% in 2018.
Access to information
Most women were signposted to additional postnatal support or care:
- 86% of women were told by their midwife or midwifery team who to contact if they needed advice about mental health changes they might experience after the birth
- 90% of women were told that they would need to arrange a postnatal check-up of their own health.
Figure 13: The percentage of women who said that they were definitely given enough information and support on different topics in the 10 days after birth ranged from 78% (on their baby's health and progress) to 51% (on benefits and financial support).
Percentage of women who responded “Yes, definitely” to the question “Were you given enough information by the health professional about the following?”, 2018 and 2025, weighted percentages.
In 2025, two new statements were added:
- 71% of women responded that they definitely received enough information and support to build a relationship with their baby
- 73% received enough information to care for their baby.
Person-centred care
Care at home after the birth was rated very positively overall, with around nine in ten women reporting positive experiences across each aspect of care.
Figure 14: The highest-rated aspect was being treated with kindness and understanding (95%). Health professionals working well together to organise a woman’s care (89%) was rated lowest.
Percentage of women who agreed or strongly agreed with statements related to care received at home / in the community after the birth, 2025, weighted percentages.
Ratings were the same or similar for each of the five statements also asked in 2018.