The survey comes after Baroness Amos, chair of the independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, has said her initial impressions were ‘much worse than I anticipated'.

The CQC survey found improvements in a number of areas.

Some improvements
	2025	2024
Those ‘always' spoken to in a way they could understand by staff providing antenatal care	89%	88%
Those ‘always' given enough time to ask questions or discuss their pregnancy during antenatal check-ups	81%	80%
Those ‘always' involved in decisions about their care during labour and birth	77%	75%
Their partner or someone else close to them was able to stay with them as much as they wanted after the birth	72%	63%
Those ‘definitely' asked about their mental health during their antenatal check-ups	77%	76%
Those told who to contact if they needed advice about any changes to their mental health after giving birth	83%	81%

 However, there were a number of areas where care fell below expectations for some people. 

Must do better
People left alone at a time when it worried them	During the later stages of labour' (7%) or ‘during the birth' (3%) – no change since 2021
Those not given appropriate advice and support when they contacted a midwife or the hospital at the start of their labour	15% (unchanged from 2024)
Those who felt they were not taken seriously if they raised a concern during their labour and birth	18% (unchanged from 2024)
Those who felt that they had received the advice they needed when they contacted the telephone triage line	72% ‘definitely' had but 21% only ‘sometimes'
Those ‘always' able to get a member of staff to help them when they needed it while in hospital after the birth of their child	57% ‘always' but 10% could not

Those who had higher frequency of contact with the same midwife during their antenatal care, labour and birth, and postnatal care were more positive about their experiences. The correlation between greater continuity of care and a more positive maternity experience was particularly evident in relation to feeling listened to, getting help when it was needed and being involved in decisions about their care.

 People in the most deprived areas and those with a long-term mental health condition were less likely to say they were treated with dignity and respect. 

Dr Toli Onon, CQC's chief inspector of hospitals, said: ‘We have heard first hand from those working in maternity services that they have their own concerns about the effect of staff shortages and the impact that has on their ability to provide the standard of care they would like to deliver. Our analysis shows that women who see the same midwife throughout their pregnancy are more likely to report positive experiences – but we know staffing pressures can make continuity of care difficult. Continued efforts to address staffing shortages in maternity services must be a national priority.

‘We will continue to report on the findings from our individual inspections of NHS Trust maternity services across England making clear where we find action is needed as well as where we see things working well. Alongside this I hope that all trusts will use their survey results to help identify changes they can make to drive up quality in their own services.'

Duncan Burton, chief nursing officer for England said: ‘It's clear that too many women are still not receiving the care they need despite the signs of improvement that these results show, and I am determined to ensure every woman and their family is listened to and receives safe and compassionate care.

‘We have put in place dedicated teams across the country working to improve services and we are introducing daily performance monitoring of every maternity service to ensure we can quickly intervene if issues arise.

‘I want to reassure women and families that staff are continuing to work hard to provide the best possible care and want to do everything they can to support them – we would encourage them talk to their midwives and maternity teams if they have any concerns.'

Jenny King, chief research officer at health and care research charity Picker, which co-ordinated the survey, said: 'The 2025 Maternity Survey provides a valuable snapshot of women's experiences across England, highlighting areas of real progress, particularly in antenatal communication. At the same time, the results show there are still challenges to address to make sure women consistently have positive experiences across the whole maternity pathway.'