Maternity Matters

Wessex Voices was commissioned to carry out engagement with women and their birthing partners. Healthwatch Hampshire, one of Wessex Voices’ partners, was asked to undertake this on behalf of the project.
They, alongside the LMS, created a survey with midwives and service managers to look at experiences of women and their birthing partners around pregnancy, birth and the first 10 days after birth. The link to the on-line survey was shared widely across the region with other Healthwatches and promoted via Facebook and Twitter.
This extensive engagement with women and their birth partners has shown that overall, women have very positive experiences throughout their pregnancy and birth in all areas of Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.
Most women were very thankful for the support they had received from all healthcare professionals. Many women recognise the pressures faced by the NHS and the amount of effort that staff go to, to make their experiences as smooth and stress free as possible.