Pregnancy in Barnet, A review of women's experiences
Download (PDF 1.05 MB)Summary of report content
In September 2016, Healthwatch Barnet carried out a piece of research about the experiences of women who live in Barnet and used different maternity services across the borough over a 2 year period and spoke to 74 women. Feedback from mothers in Barnet showed that they had mixed experiences with care; some highlighted the dedication of the long-standing midwives; some had medical complications which required intensive care; whereas others did not have breastfeeding support whilst in hospital.
Overall, mothers value the contact and relationships they develop during the period of their pregnancy and after birth it was felt that it demonstrated the vital role that professionals, specifically midwives, play in the lives of mothers and their babies.
Various recommendations were made to Providers, Commissioners, Midwife and pregnant women.
These included
• To commission accessible antenatal appointments in the local community.
• To ensure expectant mothers are aware of their named team of midwives, and to provide them with specific contact detail.
• To ensure babies with a possible tongue-tie condition are being identified and referred for advice in a timely manner.
• To consider reviewing how to ensure that new and expectant mothers are clear about the advice and information provided to them.
• To ensure that new and expectant mothers are clear about the advice and information provided to them.
• To consider attending and providing feedback at Maternity Users’ groups and forums
The provider, the Royal Free London Foundation Trust’s, acknowledged the report with a response detailing their plans for the services post the recent merger.