HSE welcomes National Maternity Experience Survey results

The HSE today welcomed the findings of the National Maternity Experience Survey 2025, highlighting the experiences of women in Ireland’s maternity services.

A detailed HSE response report titled "Listening, Responding and Improving" was also published today, outlining the work underway to address the issues highlighted by participants in the second national maternity experience survey. The inaugural survey was undertaken in 2020.   

In total, 3,354 women took part in the survey, sharing feedback on their experience of care of Irish maternity services. The survey included questions on the full pathway of maternity care, from pregnancy, through labour and birth, to care in the community after the birth. It identifies areas for improvement and strengths we are building on.

The findings showed that most women (83%) rated their overall experience during pregnancy, labour and after birth as good or very good.

Compared to 2020, the 2025 survey showed progress in seven areas, particularly in involvement in care decisions, opportunities to ask questions, as well as emotional support from healthcare professionals when babies were in the neonatal unit. Four of the areas that saw more positive scores this year were identified as priorities for improvement in 2020, showing that maternity services listened to what women said in the 2020 survey and took targeted actions to improve care.

Nevertheless, some areas saw a decline from the 2020 survey, including information on physical changes and nutrition during pregnancy, support with feeding the baby at home and communication with GPs after birth.

Repeating this survey in future years will allow us to track progress and measure the impact of our improvement efforts.

In 2025, women indicated positive interactions with healthcare staff, with:

• 81% reporting they always felt treated with respect and dignity while they were pregnant
• 71% saying they had confidence and trust in the healthcare professionals caring for them during their labour and birth
• 75% said while in hospital after the birth they felt their questions were answered in a way they could understand
• 79.9% said their decisions about how they wanted to feed their baby were respected by healthcare professionals.

However, the survey also identified key areas to be improved including that:

• 30% said there wasn’t good communication about their care in pregnancy between the maternity service (midwives, doctors) and their GP
• 25% said they did not have the opportunity to ask midwives or doctors questions about their labour and birth in the period shortly after their baby was born. 20% said they were not given enough support for their mental health after the birth of their baby
• 16% said in the days and weeks after their baby was born they didn’t get adequate support and encouragement from healthcare professionals with feeding their baby at home.

Welcoming the survey findings, Bernard Gloster, HSE CEO, said:

"I want to thank the women who took part in the survey. Their feedback and contributions provide us with valuable insights that help us to enhance and improve our maternity services. Our HSE ‘Listening, Responding and Improving’ report, highlights improvement initiatives already underway. We’re committed to enhancing the quality of maternity services and the experiences of women and their families."

Joe Ryan, HSE National Director for Public Involvement, Culture and Risk Management, said: 

"This is the second national maternity survey, and I am pleased to see continued strong engagement, with a 42% response rate. This year was the first time the survey used text invitations and reminders, with all responses submitted online.

The strong participation shows that women are eager to engage and play an active role in improving our maternity services. The survey identifies clear areas for improvement. In my role within the health service, I am committed to ensuring that the survey findings inform our quality improvement priorities and deliver tangible, measurable enhancements to maternity care. I am also committed to working closely with patients, service users, and colleagues across the health system to strengthen patient and public involvement in the design, delivery, and evaluation of services."