Risk of serious childbirth injuries rising for women in England, data suggests
NHS figures show the rate of severe perineal tears and postpartum hemorrhage among women in England has reached record highs since monitoring began, while thousands of birth records are missing from official datasets.
Women in England are facing the highest risk of serious childbirth injuries since record-keeping began in 2020, according to NHS England data. The rate of third- and fourth-degree perineal tears rose to 31.1 per 1,000 births in the first quarter of 2026, the highest on record. Similarly, the annual rate of postpartum hemorrhage (loss of 1.5 liters of blood or more) reached 31.2 per 1,000 births in 2025, also a peak.
Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Helen Morgan, who obtained the figures, said: "Behind these statistics are women going through unimaginable trauma, requiring surgery and in many cases months or even years of recovery." She called for maternity services to be treated as a national crisis.
The Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged the concerning trends, noting that last week's damning report on Nottingham University Hospitals trust highlighted how many women are failed by poor-quality care. The government has expanded Martha's rule to all maternity units, giving women and parents the right to a second opinion.
However, some experts urge caution. Dr. Kim Thomas, chief executive of the Birth Trauma Association, suggested the increase in tears might partly reflect better diagnosis, as the NHS has introduced a "care bundle" to speed up detection and treatment. She also noted that older mothers and Asian women are more prone to tears, and the NHS's relatively frequent use of forceps during delivery could contribute.
In addition to rising injuries, the Guardian found that the NHS in England is failing to properly record details of all births. For the 2024-25 period, outcomes for over 85,000 of 542,235 births (14.8%) were missing from the Hospital Episodes Statistics dataset. Missing data includes place of delivery, method, baby's weight, anesthetic use, and gestation. The same dataset had gaps for over 100,000 births in 2023-24.
Clare Livingstone, head of professional policy at the Royal College of Midwives, said: "Incomplete data is a fundamental barrier to improving maternity care. Without a full picture of what is happening before, during and after birth, it is much harder to identify where action is needed."
Pressure is mounting on the government to publish its planned action plan for transforming maternity services, which is expected by the end of the year. Meanwhile, speculation grows that childbirth safety expert Donna Ockenden – who recently led an investigation into the Nottingham scandal – may be appointed as the first maternity commissioner.
