About 20,000 pregnant women a year in England report having experienced domestic abuse while receiving maternity care, according to a new analysis. Experts say, however, that the real figure may be higher, because many women do not disclose abuse.
An analysis of maternity service data from various National Health Service (NHS) trusts in England found that in about 3.3 percent of maternity bookings, women reported current or past domestic abuse. Applying that rate to the NHS’s total maternity bookings across the country gives an estimate of about 20,000 disclosures of abuse a year.
The analysis was carried out by the For Baby’s Sake Trust. The organisation requested data from 118 NHS trusts in England, of which 74 provided usable figures. The calculation is based on a three-year average of the most recent data available.
The chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, Gill Walton, said the figures brought the everyday reality of midwives’ work to the fore. In her view, the midwife is often the health worker a pregnant woman sees regularly and in private. Midwives therefore have an important part to play in identifying the signs of domestic abuse.
Those involved say identifying abuse is not enough on its own. Midwives need specific training, adequate time and the necessary support to handle situations of this kind. Many midwives are already under extra pressure in busy maternity wards because of staff shortages and long hours.
The interim head of external affairs at Women’s Aid, Veronica Oakeshott, said maternity health workers need better support on what steps to take after receiving information about domestic violence from pregnant women. In her view, staff working in busy wards are already under a great deal of pressure, so giving them adequate training and support to handle these cases is essential.
The chief operating officer and safeguarding lead of the For Baby’s Sake Trust, Judith Rees, said pregnancy and the first period after birth create an important opportunity to intervene in cases of abuse. In her view, midwives need to understand the effects of abuse, identify risk, respond safely and know where specialist support can be found when it is needed.
NHS England’s chief midwifery officer, Kate Brintworth, said everyone working in maternity and neonatal care is committed to responding with compassion and sensitivity when domestic abuse is disclosed. She said midwives are given mandatory safeguarding training, along with specific training in asking sensitive questions about abuse and arrangements for referring women to specialist domestic abuse services where necessary.
Receiving health care in pregnancy creates an important opportunity to identify domestic abuse. But those involved believe health workers need the training, the time and the resources to make sure effective support follows once a woman has disclosed abuse.