Motherhood
Women being failed by underfunded UK postnatal care, report warns
Women in the UK are being failed by a “dangerously underfunded and understaffed” postnatal care system, a new report has warned.
Thousands of new mothers feel unsafe, unsupported and overwhelmed in the weeks and months after birth, according to the National Childbirth Trust (NCT).
The report included a survey of 2,000 new and expectant parents across the UK, including 500 women who were pregnant at the time.
Angela McConville, chief executive of the NCT, said: “Every major report has shown that the UK’s maternity system is failing to provide safe, compassionate care.”
“Becoming a parent is rarely one-dimensional. It can be joyful, frightening, overwhelming and messy, often all at once, and that kaleidoscope of emotions is shaped profoundly by the care and support families receive.
“At one of the most vulnerable times in their lives, too many parents tell us they feel unsafe, unsupported and denied genuine choice.”
Almost a quarter, 24 per cent, said they did not have regular access to NHS staff in the weeks and months after birth.
Nearly nine in 10, 87 per cent, reported feeling overwhelmed at least some of the time, with 22 per cent always feeling overwhelmed. Meanwhile, 62 per cent reported feeling lonely sometimes, with 12 per cent saying they felt lonely all of the time.
More than half, 59 per cent, of pregnant women said they worried about their mental health.
Michelle Welsh, Labour MP for Sherwood Forest and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on maternity, said the NCT report was “deeply troubling”.
It confirmed what families and NHS staff had been telling the group for years, she added.
“Too many parents are being left without a safety net at one of the most important and vulnerable times of their lives,” she said.
“Feeling overwhelmed, isolated or unsafe should never be considered a normal part of pregnancy, birth or early parenthood.”
Last year, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, ordered a review into maternity and neonatal care (care for newborns) in England.
Led by Lady Valerie Amos, it is due to report this spring and covers 12 NHS trusts. Some families have called for a full statutory inquiry.
McConville said investment, staffing, training and accountability “must be prioritised to ensure every parent can feel confident, supported and heard”.
Responding to the report, the government said women should get the support they need in their baby’s first months of life and “stark inequalities” were “unacceptable”.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson added: “We expect all women to be offered a postnatal check-up with their GP at six to eight weeks after birth, which includes physical and mental health support.
“This government is taking urgent action to improve maternity services – launching a national maternity and neonatal investigation, which includes identifying the drivers of inequalities, investing over £130m to make maternity and neonatal units safer, rolling out a programme to reduce avoidable brain injuries, and backing Martha’s Rule.”
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has referred to the women’s health strategy as a ‘missed opportunity’ to address maternity services.
The renewed strategy was released by the government this week, with the aim of putting women’s experiences at the centre of care and ensuring they are “better heard and served”.
However, the government stated that because of ongoing investigations into maternity services across the country, the strategy “does not seek to address safety in maternity and neonatal services”.
The RCM described this as a “missed opportunity” and urged the government to ensure that, following the inquiries, maternity is placed “at the very heart” of the strategy.
Gill Walton, RCM chief executive, said the college was “deeply disappointed” that maternity services “do not feature as a headline priority” in the renewed strategy.
She said: “This is a significant missed opportunity and one that is very difficult to understand.
“Pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period are not a footnote in women’s health – they are one of the most significant and consequential phases of a woman’s life.
“A strategy that treats maternity as an afterthought is not truly a women’s health strategy at all. It is exactly the kind of thinking that has allowed maternity services to reach the point they are at today.”
Walton acknowledged that the strategy contained commitments on ensuring women’s voices shape their care, on supporting families through pregnancy loss and on the principle that services should be held accountable when they fail to listen to women.
She added: “But a strategy that addresses one part of women’s health while leaving maternity care behind is only doing half the job.”
Walton urged the government to ensure that this is addressed when the ongoing investigations into maternity care conclude, with any recommendations placed “at the very heart of this strategy with the seriousness and urgency that women, families and midwives deserve”.
In the foreword to the renewed plans, health and social care secretary Wes Streeting referred to the ongoing independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation as action being taken by the government to improve safety in maternity services.
The strategy also refers to the new National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by Streeting, which aims to help deliver “safer, more equitable care” for women, babies and families.
The foreword said that, because of ongoing initiatives, it was “important that this work continues without restriction and that the government can properly respond to the findings”.
It added: “This renewed women’s health strategy therefore does not seek to address safety in maternity and neonatal services other than that related to women’s health before and during pregnancy and the actions we are taking immediately to improve maternity and neonatal care.”
The strategy does, however, include plans to prioritise health education in schools, communities and healthcare settings to “empower women” with the “knowledge and tools they need to help control their fertility” and “prepare for the best pregnancy outcomes.
It also promises to provide women with access to “safe and high-quality contraception, abortion care, fertility services, preconception care and support after pregnancy loss in convenient settings.
Scotland is set to publish the UK’s first dedicated miscarriage patient charter, giving women and families clear information on NHS care and support.
Commissioned by the Scottish Government and developed with baby-loss charities Tommy’s, Held In Our Hearts and the Miscarriage Association, the charter sets out minimum standards for compassionate, clinically appropriate and culturally competent miscarriage care across Scotland.
It builds on the Scottish Government’s Delivery Framework for Miscarriage Care, which has already changed practice across NHS boards.
Jenni Minto, Scottish public health and women’s health minister, said: “Miscarriage is devastating, and for too long women have not had the care and support they deserve.
“That is changing. Scotland will become the first country in the UK to publish a miscarriage patient charter, meaning women know exactly how they will be supported by health services following their loss.”
Unlike previous UK-wide norms, where women were typically offered enhanced support only after three miscarriages, Scotland’s approach means women can receive appropriate support after their first miscarriage.
The charter also sets out clear rights and expectations so every woman, regardless of location or circumstance, understands the care she should receive.
It includes access to private rooms in hospitals rather than busy clinical areas or maternity settings, progesterone treatment where clinically appropriate, compassionate and culturally competent bereavement support, and clear information in 18 languages, including British Sign Language and audio formats.
Progesterone is a hormone that growing evidence suggests may help reduce the risk of miscarriage in certain cases when given to women who meet specific clinical criteria.
The Scottish Government said the charter is designed to ensure personalised, respectful care and to address long-standing inequalities experienced by women during miscarriage.
It is intended to provide clarity on the support women can expect, consistent standards across all NHS boards, stronger awareness and confidence among healthcare professionals, and better access to emotional and practical support services.
Charities involved in its development said many women still report feeling dismissed, uninformed or unsupported during miscarriage.
They said the new charter marks an important step towards making sure every woman feels heard, respected and cared for.
The charter aligns with Scotland’s wider Women’s Health Plan, which is improving care across reproductive, menstrual, maternal and perinatal health.
Recent national developments include greater investment in women’s health services, improved training for healthcare staff, new digital and in-person support tools, and targeted action to reduce inequalities in access and outcomes.
Together, these measures aim to create a more compassionate and equitable women’s health system.
Minto said: “This charter is a landmark moment.
“It tells women clearly what they should expect from their NHS, and it holds services to account for delivering it.
“Scotland is leading the way, and I am proud of the progress NHS boards and our charity partners have made together.”
The model is expected to inform wider UK discussions on miscarriage support, bereavement care and early pregnancy services.
The charter will be made publicly available, offering women, partners and families clear guidance on their rights and the standards they can expect when seeking care.
By Adrianne Nickerson, founder and CEO, Oula
The numbers get the headlines. Maternal mortality rates. Access deserts. Workforce shortages. These are real and urgent problems, but they’re not the whole story.
There’s a quieter breakdown happening inside routine appointments, and it’s driving outcomes in ways that never show up in formal reports.
Women describe maternity care that feels rushed and transactional.
They talk about repeating their medical history at every visit, leaving appointments with questions they never got to ask, and receiving advice so generic it doesn’t seem to account for their actual lives.
These aren’t just complaints about bedside manner. They’re signals that the system is losing the thread, and when that happens, clinical risk follows.
A patient who doesn’t feel heard may decide a new symptom isn’t worth mentioning.
A patient who leaves an appointment without clear next steps may wait too long to call when something changes. These small moments of disconnection are where complications quietly take shape.
The system is structured to rush
This isn’t about individual clinicians failing women. It’s about a care model built around short, physician-led visits with limited coordination across roles — applied to pregnancies that are often medically and emotionally complex.
Clinicians are covering more ground in less time, and patients feel that compression. Women in marginalised communities feel it most acutely.
Reports of dismissal and bias are well-documented, and the consequences compound: when trust erodes, communication breaks down, and the window for early intervention narrows.
What women are actually asking for
Younger women in particular are entering maternity care with different expectations. They want explanations for recommendations, not just instructions.
They want to understand tradeoffs and have their preferences carry forward from one visit to the next. They’re not looking to reduce medical oversight, they’re looking for care that makes sense as a whole.
That’s driving real interest in collaborative care models that bring OBs, midwives, nurses, and behavioural health professionals into a coordinated framework.
When roles are clear and communication is shared rather than siloed, the experience changes, and so do outcomes.
Experience is clinical performance
Health systems are sophisticated at tracking infection rates and readmissions. The experience of care deserves the same level of attention, because it’s often where the clinical picture first starts to slip.
The fixes aren’t mysterious. A longer first visit can prevent confusion that compounds over months. Integrated mental health support surfaces concerns that might otherwise go unspoken.
Clear communication across the care team eliminates the mixed messages that erode confidence.
Postpartum services like pelvic floor therapy and lactation support – when easy to access and clearly explained – extend the impact of care well beyond delivery.
Workforce shortages and financial pressure make all of this harder. They also make it more urgent.
When women feel respected and informed, they raise concerns earlier, follow care plans more consistently, and seek help sooner.
That’s not a soft outcome – that’s how complications get prevented.
Simply put: adjusting how care is delivered is one of the most direct ways to improve clinical outcomes.
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