Risk of serious birth injuries is rising for women in England, data suggests

‘Too many women are being failed by poor-quality maternity care,’ a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said. Photograph: Natalia Kuzina/Alamy View image in fullscreen ‘Too many women are being failed by poor-quality maternity care,’ a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said. Photograph: Natalia Kuzina/Alamy Risk of serious birth injuries is rising for women in England, data suggests About 31 in every 1,000 facing haemorrhage or severe tears, NHS figures show, in trend described as ‘national crisis’ How a Romford maternity ward was able to turn the tide after a ‘requires improvement’ rating Women in England are at their highest risk of suffering a serious injury while giving birth since records began in 2020, NHS figures show. The rate of women sustaining the most serious type of tear during childbirth rose to 31.1 in every 1,000 in January, February and March – the highest since monitoring began in 2020. Similarly, the rate of women having a postpartum haemorrhage increased during 2025 to 31.2 in every 1,000 births – the highest annual rate over the five years data has been collected. Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, who obtained the figures from NHS England, said: “Behind these statistics are women going through unimaginable trauma, requiring surgery and in many cases months or even years of recovery. Some will never fully recover. “This news … shows that we need to treat maternity services as a national crisis. The truth is that we will not reverse this dangerous, unacceptable trend – of rising blood loss and record severe tears – until we make safety a priority.” NHS bosses and ministers prepare for the publication on Tuesday of Lady Amos’s government-commissioned report into the state of childbirth care. It will add to the increasingly urgent clamour for a major transformation of often-inadequate childbirth care in order to make it safe. There is growing speculation that Donna Ockenden – the senior midwife and childbirth safety expert who last week published a damning report into the NHS’s biggest ever maternity scandal, at Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust – will be appointed as the first maternity commissioner, with a remit to oversee much-needed improvements in the quality and safety of care provided. View image in fullscreen Ockenden during a press conference in Nottingham after the publication of the report. Photograph: Jacob King/PA Ockenden is already investigating two other emerging childbirth scandals in Leeds and Sussex. The government intends to publish an action plan to transform maternity services by the end of the year. But pressure is intensifying for it to spell out its plans sooner. The rate of third- and fourth-degree perineal tears has risen to 31.1 in 1,000, from 25 in 1,000 when figures were first published in June 2020. The rate of postpartum haemorrhage – which involves the loss of one and a half litres of blood – has increased similarly over t