No pain relief and no food...how NHS betrays new mums

1 in 5 ‘scarred’ by shocking post-natal hospital care

THOUSANDS of new mothers are left without food or pain relief in overstretched NHS maternity units, leaving many psychologically scarred, research reveals today.

Moments after giving birth, they are shunted into crowded postnatal NHS wards where they receive only the most basic care during the crucial first hours of their baby’s life.

As a result, a fifth of new mothers are left with mental-health problems, the research suggests.

In extreme cases, women develop post-natal depression or even posttraumatic stress disorder – an illness associated with soldiers in wartime.

Many decide not to have another child specifically because of the trauma they experienced after labour.

Nearly one in six women say they discharge themselves early to escape the horrors of NHS maternity wards.

The research by the online advice forum Mumsnet is based on a survey of 1,224 mothers who gave birth in Britain during the past three years.

Experts last night said the NHS focuses attention on delivering a baby, after which mothers are effectively abandoned to cope alone.

Only 8.5 per cent of total maternity care spending in England goes on post-natal care, despite the importance of this time for mothers to bond with their infants, learn to breastfeed and care for the child, and the risk to her mental and physical health.

Some 61 per cent of mothers surveyed said they could not get food on the post-natal ward when they were hungry, and 45 per cent were abandoned without enough pain relief.

Twenty-two per cent were not given drinking water, and 19 per cent were left with without washing facilities.

One said: ‘We left earlier than we should have and ended up back in hospital – it was the beginning of hellish mental-health difficulties for me. I am pregnant again now, and I am scared.’

Another said: ‘The post-natal ward was like a disaster zone.’

Some 62 per cent of women said their post-natal ward was understaffed, and 19 per cent said staying in hospital had affected their mental health.

Another 20 per cent were frightened for their wellbeing or their baby’s, while 15 per cent felt unsafe during their stay.

Five per cent developed postnatal depression, which they said was at least partly caused by their care after birth.

This suggests that of 700,000 new mothers in England and Wales each year, 35,000 develop depression because of poor post-natal care. But the NHS is poorly equipped to help them. Suicide is the leading cause of death among expectant and new mothers. Yet 43 per cent of health boards in England provide no specialised maternal mental-health service at all.

One new mother said: ‘When my health reached crisis point the staff were excellent and saved my life, but I got to the point where I was in danger because staff were overstretched. I was ignored, isolated and left to deteriorate.’

Among those who would have been likely to have more children, 5 per cent said the experience had contributed to a decision not to expand their family.

Mumsnet boss Justine Roberts said: ‘Women who’ve just given birth should not be going hungry or thirsty, or having to ask repeatedly for pain relief, or wash in dirty bathrooms. NHS resources tend to be focused on pregnancy care and birth. That focus falls away when women leave the labour room.

‘Women deserve similar levels of attention in the crucial days and weeks following birth.’

Cathy Warwick, chief execu- tive of the Royal College of Midwives, said: ‘This is not good enough. Post-natal services are the Cinderella of maternity services. The post-natal period can be a difficult time, when the highest level of care and support is needed.’

Elizabeth Duff, of the National Childbirth Trust, said: ‘ It’s unacceptable. Many women get good care in labour, then are left to fend for themselves. This situation has to change.’

An NHS England spokesman said: ‘An NHS survey of 20,000 new mothers, 95 per cent felt they were treated with kindness and understanding, and 88 per cent felt if they needed attention, they received it. We continue to make maternity care more personalised before, during and after birth to give mothers and babies the best start.’

A Tory source added: ‘We are working to ensure expectant mothers get named midwives who provide care through birth and the post-natal period, with additional support for those with mental-health concerns. But there is more to do.’

‘I am pregnant again, and I am scared’ ‘This situation has to change’