UK maternity services criticised

The Healthcare Commission's poll of 26,000 women who gave birth in January and February 2007 revealed that a quarter were left alone at a time that worried them.

This goes against guidelines stating that women should not be left alone except for short periods.

Nearly a quarter of those surveyed said they would liked to have seen a midwife more often after birth and 22% said their midwife did not discuss feeding their baby with them during pregnancy.

Other concerns raised by the survey include a failure to provide all women with the choice of a home birth and to offer all new mums NHS antenatal classes.

Hospital hygiene and quality of food also came under fire in the poll.

One-fifth of women branded their hospital food as poor and a quarter said they were given too little.

Nearly a fifth of women said the toilets and bathrooms were "not very clean" or "not at all clean"; a figure that rose to nearly two-thirds of women in one trust.

Louise Silverton, of the Royal College of Midwives, said: "It is a serious concern that too many women are left alone during labour, leaving them feeling worried and vulnerable.

"The main way to solve these problems is simply to improve midwife numbers. Without this the government's targets will just be broken promises, and we have seen this too often in the past."

Dr Gwyneth Lewis, the government's maternity services expert, said the survey would help health professionals focus attention on the areas that needed improving.

She added: "It is encouraging that the vast majority of respondents reported their care during labour and birth as being "excellent", "very good" or "good". We want to see these positive experiences replicated throughout the entire process."