Your local Healthwatch in North East London wants to ensure people are offered the best experience when using maternity services; which is why we are conducting this survey. (Click on these links to find out more about your local Healthwatch in Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest). 

East London has the highest birth rate in the UK. Our health and care services must fully support this growth and continue to ensure the best possible outcomes for mothers and babies. In particular, we are looking to understand the experiences of patients people from minority or marginalised groups when accessing and experiencing maternity services.

We will be asking you a few questions, based on your experience of pregnancy and/or giving birth in North East London. By taking part in this survey, you will help  shape NHS maternity services to make them better for local people like you.

CONTENT WARNING: Depending on your experience, you may be asked questions about sensitive or difficult topics, including miscarriage, stillbirth, pregnancy termination, foetal abnormalities and mental health during pregnancy. 

You can skip any individual question you prefer not to answer, by simply leaving it blank. Sections containing particularly sensitive questions will be clearly marked, and you will be able to skip them without seeing the questions. 

If you need support, you may want to get in touch with one of these charities:

The Miscarriage Association- for people affected by pregnancy loss
SANDS- for people affected by stillbirth and neonatal death;
BLISS- for babies born premature or sick.

What happens with your data

Local Healthwatch engage with local people on their experience with health and social care services. We represent the voice of local people in the health and social care debate, and work with relevant stakeholders in health and social care to improve services for people like you and ensure they meet your needs.

This survey is anonymous (no one will see any of your personal information); however, at the end of this survey, you will have the option to leave us your name and contact details, in case you want to keep in touch this is so we can let you know the outcome of the survey and give you the opportunity to be involved in designing future services. This will be stored separately from your survey answers.

We will only contact you with your consent. We will only collect personal data (including your demographic characteristics, experience of services or contact details) in order to serve the purpose of better understanding patient experience and formulating recommendations for service improvement).

The findings of this survey will be shared with relevant stakeholders, such as NHS service providers or local authorities, in an anonymised and aggregated format.

Question Title

* 1. Have you been pregnant within the last four years?

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