Kernow maternity voices: Maternity journey feedback
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Healthwatch Cornwall report on the findings of the Kernow Maternity Voices Partnership survey. 760 people responded.
Overall 90% of respondents said they had a named midwife who coordinated their care during their pregnancy.
There was a declining number of people over the period who had attended NHS provided antenatal classes – partly due to the pandemic. Of those that attended, feedback was very mixed.
Over 87% said their midwife talked to them about birthing in an obstetric unit compared to 54% for a freestanding midwifery unit. Home birth was discussed with 57% of respondents over all.
Most people had given birth in the Treliske Obstetric Unit or the Truro Alongside Midwifery Unit. Just over one in ten said that their named midwife had provided care for them during labour.
Overall 95% said they were treated with dignity and respect and 91% said they were involved in decisions about their care. People said that communication and staff attitude were things that had the greatest impact on how they felt about their care, when done well these things resulted in a positive experience.
Over 30% of comments mention communication, consistency of advice and consent. People told us observations were done on them and baby without explanation and they were not clear what treatment they or their baby needed. Infant feeding support and advice was included in over 30% of comments. This was often linked to the theme about communication and consistent advice.
There were concerns raised about families having to travel to post-natal appointments especially within 24 hours of leaving hospital, having very limited face to face contact and not having a 6 week check. Many families felt they wanted more contact with the health visitor and during 2020 they really missed being able to access drop in clinics as their babies grew.
Two in five needed post natal specialist support. The majority of people who accessed Infant feeding or physio support gave very positive feedback. The other main themes were about support being difficult to access due to capacity, not meeting criteria especially for mental health support, Covid restrictions impacting face-to-face support and staff awareness of what is available.