Can you share your experiences of pregnancy, maternity and birth?
The NHS North Central London Integrated Care Board and Haringey Council want to make sure that maternity services are fair, equal, and tailored to meet the needs of the individual.
Public Voice is working with local Hospital Trusts across North Central London to gather feedback on the experience of people who have used maternity services to help improve maternity care.
This survey will take just a few minutes to complete, and you can be as brief or as detailed in your answers as you like.
Thank you!
Stories from new mothers: the importance of good communication
Healthwatch England asked four local Healthwatch to look into the experiences of new mothers. They found a crucial part of personalised care was good communication, listening and agreeing on actions together.
However, the new mothers they spoke to said they experienced a miscommunication about their care, meaning they didn't have the opportunity to make their needs heard and sometimes needed to understand the care options they were consenting to fully.
Mothers felt that healthcare staff didn't adequately inform them about what they were experiencing or consenting to, didn't consider their wishes, and were treated more like "vessels in the care system than humans." This had knock-on negative impacts on maternal mental health, contributing to doubts, stress and confusion after birth.
These findings and more are set out in the Healthwatch England blog.
