You and Your Baby 2024: a national survey of maternal health and wellbeing

Report

Our latest national maternity survey, You & Your Baby 2024, provides a picture of the mental health and maternity care experiences of women who gave birth in England in May 2024. The survey recruited women through the Office for National Statistics using the register of all births in England. Women were invited to take part in the survey 6 months after giving birth and a total of 3,728 women returned online questionnaires, a response rate of 24%. The women who took part were from a wide range of backgrounds – 3 in 10 were from minority ethnic groups, 3 in 10 were born outside the UK, and 2 in 10 lived in the most disadvantaged areas of England.

The findings show that the number of women with postnatal mental health problems is still higher than before the pandemic, with 3 in 10 women reporting symptoms of depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress 6 months after giving birth. Despite this, 2 in 10 women said they were either not asked, or could not remember being asked, about their mental health by a health professional at the time their pregnancy was booked (this is usually around 12 weeks) or after the birth of their baby. These findings highlight the ongoing need for timely conversations about mental health and access to effective support throughout pregnancy and the postnatal period.

More than 8 in 10 women said they were 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with their care during pregnancy and childbirth, while just over 7 in 10 women were 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with their postnatal care. While most women were satisfied, a considerable number of women were not satisfied with their care at different stages of the maternity journey. These findings highlight the need to understand why some women report lower satisfaction with care, particularly after birth, so that targeted improvements can help ensure all women receive high-quality, supportive care.

Overall, the findings suggest that while some aspects of maternity services are meeting the needs of most women, there are still challenges in meeting all women's needs, particularly around mental health and postnatal care.

Authors: Harrison, S; Alderdice, F; Quigley, MA

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford
• Pages: 1-77
• Place of publication: Oxford
• Publication date: 2026-03-03
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-dqq66nkb8
• ISBN: 9781919181943
• Language: English