Maternity Care Survey 2025: national report

Labour and birth

Almost nine in ten women (88%) rated their care during labour and birth as either “excellent” or “good.” This is a decrease from 91% in 2018.

Birth plan and start of labour

Four in five women (80%) created a birth plan either with their midwife / consultant or independently. A further 12% discussed their birth preferences but did not put a plan in place, 4% decided not to create one and 4% were not given the opportunity to develop one.

Of the women that made a birth plan, 81% felt supported by their midwife / consultant during labour and / or birth in a way that followed their birth plan.

Of the women that went into spontaneous labour at home, 81% felt that they were given appropriate advice and support when they contacted a midwife or the hospital.

Pain relief

Figure 4: More than one in ten women (11%) felt that they did not have enough help from their midwife / consultant to enable them to cope with their pain during labour.

Percentage of women who felt they had enough help from their midwife / consultant to enable them to cope with their pain during labour, 2025, weighted percentages.

Skin to skin contact

Skin to skin contact between mother and baby shortly after birth has been shown to help start breastfeeding and reduce negative effects of mother-baby separation. 85% of women had skin to skin contact with their baby shortly after the birth. For 10% of women this was not possible for medical reasons. A further 4% of women did not have skin to skin contact, but their partner did. Two additional response options were chosen by less than 1% of women each: “Yes, but I did not want this” and “No, I did not want skin to skin contact with my baby.”

Person-centred care

The vast majority of women (95%) had confidence and trust in the midwife / consultant caring for them during their labour and / or birth all (79%) or some (16%) of the time.

Figure 5: During birth, 72% of women were not cared for by the same midwife or midwife team as during their pregnancy, a decrease from 75% in 2018. In both years the majority of these did not mind this.

Percentage of women who were cared for by the same midwife / midwifery team from pregnancy to labour / birth, 2018 and 2025, weighted percentages.

Concerns were raised during labour and / or birth by 72% of women. Of these women, 82% felt it was taken seriously, similar to 81% of women in 2018.

The majority of women were positive about all their experiences of person-centred care during labour and birth, with ratings ranging from 87% to 94%.

Figure 6: Women were most likely to agree that they were given the opportunity to involve the people who mattered to them. Women were less positive about receiving enough information, being listened to and having their personal preferences respected.

Percentage of women who agreed or strongly agreed with statements related to care received during labour or birth, 2025, weighted percentages.

Of the eight statements asked in both 2018 and 2025, six were rated similarly in both years. Two statements were rated less positively in 2025:

• “I was given the information and explanations I needed” (91% in 2018 and 87% in 2025)
• “Health professionals worked well together to organise my care” (90% in 2018 and 88% in 2025).