📢 Published today: the latest State of the Nation report from the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA). This report provides an important national picture of maternity care, drawing on data from 593,475 women and birthing people who gave birth to a singleton baby across NHS maternity services in England, Scotland and Wales in 2024. There are important findings that deserve attention. 🔹 How women give birth is changing. Vaginal birth without instruments has fallen from 62.3% in 2015/16 to 46.4% in 2024, while rates of planned and unplanned caesarean birth have increased. These changing patterns have significant implications for maternity workforce, theatre capacity and postnatal services. 🔹 Inequalities in accessing maternity care remain. Almost a quarter (24.4%) had their first booking appointment after 10 weeks. The rate among Black women and birthing people was 2.1 times that of white women and birthing people, and later booking was also more common among those living in the most deprived areas. 🔹 There has been progress in the care of babies who are small for gestational age. The proportion of SGA babies born at or after 40 weeks has fallen from 55.4% in 2015/16 to 41.4% in 2024 — but variation between countries remains. The report also identifies important gaps in our national maternity data, including the reasons for induction, caesarean birth and clinician-recommended birth. Better data are essential if we are to understand variation and improve care. As Senior Clinical Lead for Obstetrics for the NMPA, I am proud to have contributed to this work. The findings should not simply describe maternity care — they should help us improve it. We need to use these data to support safer, more equitable and better-resourced maternity services for women, babies and families. Read the report and explore the data: 🔗 maternityaudit.org.uk/pages/… #NMPA #MaternityCare #MaternitySafety #MaternalHealth #PerinatalHealth #Pregnancy #NHS @nhs @nhsengland @royal-college-of-obstetricians-and-gynaecologists @the-royal-college-of-midwives @twinstrust

Following the publication of the recent Ockenden Review findings, and wider media scrutiny of maternity care in the UK, including Sky News’ recent coverage, there is an important question for all of us working in and around maternity services. Reviews can identify what needs to change. The harder task is making sure those recommendations become part of everyday practice across the system. That means moving from reports and action plans to practical implementation: clear escalation pathways, safe staffing, consistent training, better communication with families, transparent governance, and systems that support staff to raise concerns early. How do we make sure the lessons from maternity reviews lead to sustained, measurable improvements at scale? #MaternitySafety #MaternalFetalMedicine #Obstetrics #PatientSafety #MaternityCare

💙 𝗧𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲 — 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂. Today is the 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲 — and a chance to recognise the colleagues who hold maternity care together. 🌟 In every clinic I run, every theatre I operate in, every NHS unit I work across — midwives sit at the heart of safer pregnancies, safer births and better outcomes for newborns. To the midwives I work alongside: 🏥 At St George's 🏥 At Liverpool Women's Hospital 🏥 In my private clinics 🌍 And across the global maternity community Your 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲, your 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲, and your 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 change lives — every single day. Thank you. #InternationalDayOfTheMidwife #IDM2026 #Midwives #MaternityCare #ThankAMidwife @LiverpoolWomens @CityStGeorges @MidwivesRCM @ThePortlandHosp