- Almost one in three (30%) women in the UK say their childbirth experience left them with mental health struggles, which equates to up to 31,174 women in the West Midlands alone
- One in five (20%) women in the West Midlands report long-term mental health damage, higher than the national average
- Lime Solicitors is calling for urgent improvements to maternity care to prevent avoidable trauma
Tens of thousands of women across the West Midlands could be suffering with their mental health as a consequence of poor maternity care, according to new polling by Lime Solicitors.
The survey, commissioned by the patient safety champions, found that 30% of women nationally have experienced mental health struggles following childbirth. Applied to the 103,916 births across the region between February 2023 and February 2025, this could mean up to 31,174 women in the West Midlands may be suffering.
A further 13% of women across the UK reported long-term mental health damage. However, the situation may be even more acute in the West Midlands, where the figure rises to one in five (20%) women.
The survey also found that more than a quarter (26%) of women did not rate their pre-birth care positively, suggesting 27,018 women in the West Midlands may have felt unsupported during pregnancy. In addition, during childbirth itself, almost one in three (32%) women said their consent was not upheld, equating to a staggering nearly one million women across the region.
This data comes at a time when the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation is underway, in which Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the fourteen trusts focused on. This raises questions about varying care across trusts and whether your postcode determines the level of support mothers and mothers to be receive.
Lime Solicitors found that fear and anxiety about maternity safety are also influencing family planning decisions across the UK, with maternity scandals not only harming current mothers but also be deterring a new generation of women from starting or growing their families.
Nikki Fahey, Medical Negligence Partner at Lime Solicitors, said: “At Lime Solicitors, too many women tell us that what should have been one of the happiest moments of their lives became an experience defined by fear and distress. Our research has uncovered a system that’s leaving women to shoulder the mental and emotional fallout of poor maternity care.
“Mothers are being ignored, dismissed and left to suffer in silence before, during and after giving birth. Our maternity care system is under immense strain, but the lack of compassion and communication reported by so many women must serve as a wake-up call.
“These figures for the West Midlands are particularly concerning as they show the scale of the challenge facing maternity services. Too many women are being left to cope with the psychological impact of traumatic birth experiences. Patient safety must be prioritised to ensure no woman suffers avoidable harm.”
