A new survey by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the parenting website Netmums.com has revealed that one-third of new mothers are left alone during labour or just after they have delivered their baby.

Sky News reports that researchers questioned 3,500 new mothers about their experience of giving birth in NHS hospitals, including antenatal and postnatal care. A total of 35 per cent said they had been left alone during labour or just after giving birth – and at a time when they felt worried. A total of 43 per cent said that after giving birth, they did not have access to a midwife.

The survey also revealed that once a baby was six weeks’ old, only half the mothers questioned were still breastfeeding because they did not have anyone to show them how.

The co-founder of Netmums.com, Sally Russell, said the results of the survey showed ‘just how stretched NHS maternity services are’.

In 2007, the government said that all pregnant women under the NHS in England should be supported by a midwife ‘they know and trust’ throughout the pregnancy – and also after birth. Women should also be given the choice of where they give birth, whether at home or in a consultant- or nurse-led maternity unit in an NHS hospital.

Sally Russell said that she herself had seven different midwives during labour and ended up having to have an emergency Caesarean section.

‘There was no continuity of care, therefore no one was able to make sound decisions,’ she added.

Out of those surveyed, however, 83 per cent said they had the name and telephone number of a midwife they could contact during pregnancy if they felt worried – and 72 per cent had been given an appointment with a midwife as soon as they had requested one. However, only 68 per cent had been offered a choice of where they gave birth.

General Secretary of the RCM, Cathy Warwick said that, despite some positive feedback, the results of the questionnaire painted a ‘worrying and disturbing picture’ of NHS maternity care.

Health Minister Ann Keen said that an additional £330 million had been provided for NHS maternity services in recent years. However, the birth rate has been increasingly steadily since 2001, when the government introduced its 10-year NHS Plan.

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