New standards to improve maternity and neonatal care in Wales

Health boards will be expected to give mothers-to-be the full choice of where to give birth, even if that means using services beyond their health board boundary.

Pregnant women and their families will be given greater say in the development of services to help improve outcomes and experiences.

The new Quality Statement on Maternity and Neonatal care and Perinatal Engagement Framework which are published today set out how the NHS will improve services and what good looks like.

The quality statement has been developed following high-profile reviews of maternity services across the UK, including in Wales.

And it comes as evidence shows that increasingly pregnancy is becoming more complex - with women now more likely to suffer from diabetes, a high BMI, and perinatal mental health issues.

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Miles said:

“Pregnancy and childbirth are lifechanging events for women and their families.

“Maternity and neonatal staff play a huge role in this experience, and our new standards will support NHS Wales to deliver high quality care and improve outcomes for all women.

“We know that independent reports in the UK have highlighted concerns around the poor experiences of women and babies.

“We’ve listened to the concerns and will continue to work with health boards to ensure that women’s voices are at the heart of the care they receive. Listening to women, parents and families, can and does save lives.

“We’re helping to implement improvements across Wales, and just last week I saw how our investment into new state-of-the-art facilities at Glangwili Hospital’s Obstetric and Special Care Baby Unit will support staff to deliver quality care and give the most vulnerable babies the best possible start to life.”

Women from ethnic minority backgrounds also face substantial obstacles in pregnancy, with negative disparities in health outcomes.

Engagement with women and their families will be key, and health boards are expected to listen to and act upon the ideas, concerns and feedback of pregnant women, through surveys, research and real time engagement.

They must also engage with women from black, Asian, minority ethnic and other under-represented groups to identify barriers in access to support.

This will help to actively involve all women, parents and families into shaping the services they want and need.