12 week midwife visit:
Rationale:
All women should access maternity services for a full health and social care assessment of needs, risks and choices by 12 weeks and 6 days of their pregnancy to give them the full benefit of personalised maternity care and improve outcomes and experience for mother and baby. Reducing the percentage of women who access maternity services late through targeted outreach work for vulnerable and socially excluded groups will provide a focus on reducing the health inequalities these groups face whilst also guaranteeing choice to all pregnant women.
Completion of the assessment empowers women, supporting them in making well informed decisions about their care throughout pregnancy, birth and postnatally. The national choice guarantees:
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choice of how to access maternity care
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choice of type of antenatal care
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choice of place of birth
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choice of place of postnatal care
The aim is an increase in the percentage of women who have seen a midwife or a maternity healthcare professional for assessment of health and social care needs, risks and choices by 12 weeks and 6 days of pregnancy. This indicator promotes provision of accessible services.
Therefore, we are measuring patient experience in maternity and newborn care using the following indicator:
12 week midwife or maternity healthcare professional visit by primary care trust (PCT)
