The results of the second National Maternity Experience Survey have been published, capturing the views of women who gave birth in Ireland’s 19 maternity hospitals and units, and at home, during February and March 2025. This follows the first survey of its kind delivered by the National Care Experience Programme in 2020, with the experiences shared by women who gave birth in 2025 offering clear insight into the improvements implemented since the initial survey.
Compared to 2020, the 2025 survey showed progress in seven areas, particularly in involvement in care decisions, opportunities to ask questions, as well as emotional support from healthcare professionals when babies were in the neonatal unit. Four of the areas that saw more positive scores this year were identified as priorities for improvement in 2020, showing that maternity services listened to what women said in the 2020 survey and took targeted actions to improve care. Nevertheless, some areas saw a decline from the 2020 survey, including information on physical changes and nutrition during pregnancy, support with feeding the baby at home and communication with GPs after birth.
Overall, 83% of participants in 2025 rated their maternity care as ‘good’ or ‘very good’, while 17% of participants rated their maternity care as ‘fair to poor’. The majority of women reported positive experiences of care, with most women saying they felt treated with dignity and respect, and had confidence and trust in the healthcare professionals that cared for them.
Although there has been progress since 2020 in opportunities to ask questions about labour and birth, this area requires further improvement. For example, some women felt that they did not have the opportunity to ask questions about the labour and birth after their baby was born, and communication between the maternity service and their GP during their pregnancy was not good.
The survey also found differences in women’s experiences depending on their socioeconomic background. Women from disadvantaged areas were more likely to report positive postnatal care experiences at home or in the community, while women from affluent areas were more likely to feel involved in decisions during pregnancy and birth.
Read the national survey results at this link. Reports for the 19 maternity hospitals and maternity units are available at this link. The HSE has also published a response to the survey findings on the local and national initiatives being developed to improve the quality of care provided to patients.
