NHS reveals wide variations in maternity care in England

A report from the NHS Information Centre has revealed that the quality of maternity care varies significantly across NHS hospitals in England.

The report, NHS Maternity Statistics, England 2009/10, showed that some women experienced   remarkably different approaches to care, despite being treated in hospitals just a few miles apart.

The areas of care that had the widest disparity included: 

• First antenatal assessment
• Caesarean sections
• Episiotomies.

The report also revealed that:

• There were 261 fewer deliveries in NHS hospitals from 2009-10 compared to 2008-09
• In 2009-10, 63% of women had their first antenatal assessment within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, compared to just 58% in 2008-09
• The percentage of women who have a spontaneous delivery with an episiotomy from 2009-10 remained the same as in 2008-09, at 8.3%
• The number of Caesareans carried out has also remained stable, with 24.8% of women having a Caesarean in 2009-10 compared to 24.6% in 2008-09.

The NHS Information Centre says trusts should use the report to examine their practices and take notice of how they are changing year on year.