Thousands Of New Mothers In England Readmitted To Hospital After Birth, Figures Show

Thousands of caller mothers are being readmitted to infirmary successful England each year, figures reveal, raising caller concerns astir NHS maternity care.

Discharging women from infirmary prematurely increases nan consequence of conditions linked to childbirth being missed, and tin beryllium highly distressing. If childbirth injuries aliases different conditions are not treated until nan mother is readmitted days aliases weeks later, nan chances of a complete betterment whitethorn besides beryllium reduced.

In total, 14,630 caller mothers had to beryllium readmitted wrong 30 days of commencement successful nan past 12 months, which equates to 40 each day. In nan astir caller 4th for which information is available, April to June 2025, 1 successful 20 caller mothers had to beryllium readmitted soon aft being discharged.

The figures, which do not specify why nan female was readmitted, person only been collected successful their existent shape since 2024, making it difficult to comparison nan rates of readmissions pinch erstwhile data.

Helen Morgan, nan Liberal Democrat wellness spokesperson who obtained nan NHS figures from nan House of Commons library, said nan figures were “heartbreaking”.

She besides called connected Labour to reverse its cuts to nan nationalist work improvement backing (SDF) for maternity services from £95m successful 2024-25 to £2m successful 2025-26. The money was introduced aft nan Ockenden reappraisal into maternity services astatine Shrewsbury and Telford, aimed astatine improving nan value of maternity care.

The Guardian reported connected Friday that pregnant women successful England are astatine increasing risk of suffering a superior wounded while giving birth.

The number of mothers sustaining a 3rd aliases fourth-degree perineal tear while delivering their babe has risen from 25 successful 1,000 successful June 2020 to 29 successful 1,000 successful June this twelvemonth – a 16% increase, according to nan figures, besides obtained by Morgan.

It intends almost 3% of women who gave commencement successful England during this play suffered a superior tear. Such injuries harm nan woman’s anal sphincter and origin semipermanent pain, commencement trauma and incontinence. They tin besides person a “life-changing” effect connected women’s wide beingness and intelligence health, origin post-traumatic accent upset and time off them acrophobic to person different child.

The figures travel aft awesome interest astir nan mediocre value of NHS maternity attraction prompted Wes Streeting, nan wellness secretary, to motorboat an enquiry into maternity and neonatal attraction and group up a taskforce to urge improvements.

Morgan said: “Behind these figures are heartbreaking stories of women suffering unimaginable trauma astatine a infinitesimal that should beryllium afloat of joy.

“The Conservatives’ neglect of maternity services was unforgivable, putting mothers and babies nether threat, but Labour risks kicking action connected this problem into nan agelong writer … The government’s enquiry cannot beryllium utilized arsenic a shield against taking meaningful action now.

“It is unacceptable that, while truthful galore women dice aliases are injured by mediocre maternity care, nan authorities raided nan cardinal ring-fenced money for improving maternity services. Their promises to amended information will ringing hollow until they alteration course.

“If nan authorities is superior astir ending nan disaster unfolding connected our maternity wards, they must reverse these cuts astatine once, support our hard-working NHS teams, and instrumentality each measurement successful nan Ockenden reappraisal without delay.”

Medical leaders called connected NHS unit to guarantee “thorough checks” were carried retired connected each caller mother earlier they were sent home.

Prof Asma Khalil, a advisor obstetrician and vice-president of nan Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: “Maternal readmissions tin hap for a number of reasons, specified arsenic postpartum haemorrhage, infection, aliases complications that create successful nan days aliases weeks pursuing birth.

“We’re besides seeing much analyzable pregnancies, which tin lead to a higher consequence of complications some earlier and aft birth. Healthcare professionals should beryllium alert of nan factors that whitethorn summation a woman’s consequence of readmission and return a holistic, person-centred attack to postnatal care, ensuring thorough checks are carried retired earlier discharge.

“It’s captious that maternity services person nan correct staffing, training and accommodation successful spot to supply safe, personalised and compassionate attraction for each female and baby.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Childbirth tin beryllium an unthinkable infinitesimal successful a woman’s life, but suffering from injuries, including perineal tears, tin time off mothers profoundly traumatised.

“This authorities inherited a failing strategy of maternity attraction which is why we opened nan accelerated nationalist maternity investigation, are mounting up a nationalist taskforce and proceed to put successful spot perinatal pelvic wellness services to trim nan rates of perineal tears.

They said claims of backing cuts successful nan 2025-26 fund were wrong. “Overall backing has accrued by £26bn, and section NHS systems person been fixed nan state to walk nan backing to champion meet nan needs of their section community, pinch nan authorities holding them to relationship connected whether they present amended outcomes for patients.”