Almost one in five women feel their concerns were not taken seriously by healthcare professionals during childbirth, according to the “concerning” results of a national survey of maternity experiences.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) survey of almost 17,000 women who gave birth across England in NHS settings this year found that 15% felt they had not been given relevant advice or support when they contacted a midwife at the start of their labour, while 18% said their concerns had not been taken seriously.

One in 10 of the survey’s respondents reported they had been left alone during their maternity care at a time that worried them, 7% of which was “during the later stages of labour”.

Valerie Amos, who is overseeing a national investigation into maternity care, said women were experiencing “unacceptable” maternity care, including poor communication, a lack of empathy, and in some cases discrimination against women from ethnic minority and working-class backgrounds.

Clea Harmer, the chief executive of the baby loss charity Sands, said the report was “alarming and frustrating to read” and signalled the need for urgent action to follow recommendations made to improve maternity care in England.

She said: “What the results do show is that too often pregnant women are not feeling listened to when they had concerns, or not having those concerns taken seriously. We know that listening to parents saves lives. So it is especially concerning that the CQC found that these issues show no improvement since last year.”

The survey also found that only 57% of people surveyed had “always” been able to get a member of staff to help them when needed after the birth of their child, while one in 10 said they could not access any help at all.

Despite the concerns the survey raised, the results also indicated some improvements in maternity care. Almost nine in 10 (89%) of survey respondents said they had always been spoken to in a way they could understand, a 1% increase.

The same proportion of respondents (89%) said they had been offered mental health support during pregnancy, compared with 83% in 2021.

Gill Walton, the chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said it was “deeply concerning” that nearly one in five women felt they had not been taken seriously when raising concerns during labour and birth.

Walton said: “It’s positive to see improvements in several areas – with 89% of women saying they were always spoken to in a way they could understand and 81% given enough time to ask questions during antenatal check-ups. These improvements reflect the dedication of midwives working hard to provide quality care.

“These findings highlight the immense pressure midwives are working under due to chronic workforce shortages. When midwives are stretched too thin it becomes harder to provide the attentive care that allows them to truly listen and respond to concerns, especially when they’re often caring for multiple women simultaneously.”

Dr Jyotsna Vohra, the director of research, programmes and impact at the pregnancy charity Tommy’s, said the results of the survey were “yet more evidence that families are being let down.

“Just one day after the publication of Baroness Amos’s initial findings [from the National Maternity Investigation], which were deeply concerning, the results of this survey are yet more evidence that families are being let down,” Vohra said.

“Pregnancy should be a time when women and birthing people feel safe and cared for. These results clearly show that too many people are not being heard and left alone at crucial moments”.

Duncan Burton, the chief nursing officer for England, said: “It’s clear that too many women are still not receiving the care they need despite the signs of improvement that these results show, and I am determined to ensure every woman and their family is listened to and receives safe and compassionate care.

“We have put in place dedicated teams across the country working to improve services, and we are introducing daily performance monitoring of every maternity service to ensure we can quickly intervene if issues arise.