The National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA) has published its latest report. Based on births in NHS maternity services between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019 in England and Wales, the report presents information about care and outcomes, and highlights areas of potential service improvement.
The report captures 89% of eligible births, finding that one third of women and birthing people with singleton pregnancies at term underwent an induction of labour. Other key findings include:
- Of those experiencing an instrumental birth by forceps, as many as 1 in 20 did so without an episiotomy; of these, 31% experienced a third- or fourth-degree tear.
- Of those opting for a vaginal birth after a previous caesarean birth, the proportion who went on to experience a vaginal birth was 61% (over 10 percentage points lower than that in national guidance, namely 72–75%).
- Of those experiencing their first birth, 23% had an instrumental birth, 23% had an emergency caesarean, and 44% who had a vaginal birth had an episiotomy.
- Around half of babies born small for gestational age (SGA) were born after their due date. This is in contrast to national guidance recommending earlier induction be offered if there are concerns about a baby being small.
