Maternity care survey 2018: national results

10. Postnatal Care at Home and in the Community

Summary

• Nine in ten women rated the postnatal care they received at home and in the community positively which is in line with results from previous surveys.
• Three in ten women were given a choice about where their postnatal care took place.
• Women were very positive about their experience of person-centred behaviours. They were most positive about understanding information and explanations they were given (97 per cent) and being treated with kindness and understanding (96 per cent).
• Just under half of women saw the same midwife for both their antenatal and postnatal care, and just over a quarter did not but would have liked this.
• Two in three women felt they definitely had enough advice and support to care for their baby after the birth. Just over three in four women were always given the help they needed when they contacted a midwife or midwifery team, a decrease from previous surveys.

Overall Experience

Nine in ten women (90 per cent) rated the postnatal care they received at home and in the community as either ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ (Figure 10.1). This is in line with results from previous surveys.

Figure 10.1: Overall experience of postnatal care at home and in the community in 2018 and over time

Person-centred Care 

Three in ten women (30 per cent) reported that they were given a choice about where their postnatal care would take place. 

The survey asked women whether they agreed or disagreed with seven statements relating to experiences of person-centred behaviours during their postnatal care at home and in the community. As shown in Figure 10.2, women were very positive about these behaviours, with all bar one statement being rated positively by at least nine in ten women.

Women were most positive about understanding information and explanations and being treated with kindness and understanding (97 and 96 per cent respectively).

Women were least positive about staff working well together to organise their care, however this was still rated positively by 88 per cent of women.

Figure 10.2: Responses to person-centred statements – Postnatal Care at Home and in the Community

Just under half of women (46 per cent) saw the same midwife for both their antenatal and postnatal care always or most of the time. Around a quarter (26 per cent) did not see the same midwife but would have liked to and the remainder (28 per cent) did not mind that they saw a different midwife (Figure 10.3).

Figure 10.3: Did you see the same midwife for antenatal and postnatal care?

Advice and Support 

The survey asked whether respondents were given enough information and support by health professionals on a number of areas. As shown in Figure 10.4, women were most positive about information and support on their baby’s health and progress and options for feeding their baby (72 and 67 per cent respectively). 

Figure 10.4: Were you given enough information and support by health professionals on..? ^[22]

Women were least positive when asked about benefits and financial support, with 36 per cent responding that they did not get enough information or support but would have found this useful. However, it should be noted that this statement had a much higher proportion of women responding that they did not need this information and therefore being excluded from the analysis compared to the other statements.

When asked whether they felt they had enough advice and support to care for their baby after the birth, two in three women (67 per cent) responded ‘definitely’. Around a quarter (26 per cent) felt they had enough advice and support to some extent and seven per cent responded that they did not have enough and would have liked more. (Figure 10.5)

Figure 10.5: Enough advice and support to care for their baby after the birth

Just over three in four women (77 per cent) were always given the help they needed when they contacted a midwife or midwifery team. This is a decrease from 85 per cent in 2015 and 86 per cent in 2013 (Figure 10.6). Only four per cent of women reported that they were not given the help they needed.

Figure 10.6: Percentage of women that were always given the help they needed when contacting a midwife or midwifery team

Over nine in ten women (92 per cent) were told by a health professional that they needed to arrange a postnatal check-up of their own health. Three in four women (75 per cent) were told who to contact if they needed advice about emotional changes they might experience after the birth.