WOMEN giving birth at University Hospitals Dorset Trust felt less alone than average during the coronavirus pandemic, a survey suggests.

The National Childbirth Trust said the removal of support from partners or family members as a result of Covid-19 restrictions caused extreme anxiety and fear for expectant mothers.

The Care Quality Commission polled 23,000 women aged 16 and over across England who gave birth in February 2021 on their experience of maternity services – including 181 at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.

Patients were asked a range of questions and gave a score between 0 – indicating a very negative experience – and 10, representing the best possible result.

When asked if their partner or someone else was able to stay with them as much as they wanted, mothers gave University Hospitals Dorset Trust an average score of 7.7 out of 10 – well above the England average of 3.5.

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However, no previous years' results were available for the trust.

Across England as a whole, a score of 3.5 was awarded for the same question, compared to 7.5 two years earlier.

Mothers gave University Hospitals Dorset Trust a score of 5.5 out of 10 for how much they saw or spoke to a midwife, and 7.6 for whether they received the help needed from a midwifery team.

Meanwhile, the trust was given a score of 8 for its mental health support.

Despite restrictions in place, almost all of the women polled across England said they were treated with respect and dignity, and that they had confidence and trust in staff.

The Royal College of Midwives praised the hard work of midwives under "immense pressure", but said severe staff shortages meant one in five women were not offered a choice of where to have their baby.

Lorraine Tonge, director of midwifery at University Hospitals Dorset, said: “Providing compassionate and safe maternity care to our mums and their families during the pandemic was an incredible challenge, and we are so pleased that the feedback in this survey reflects the extraordinary lengths our exceptional midwives, doctors and wider maternity teams went to in order to do just that.

"We know we were not always able to get it right every time, and we know that restrictions on visiting added to what can be a stressful time for many, but it is really gratifying to see this feedback, and we’ll be studying the report and its findings to understand how we can improve further.”