One in five women go to ED in the year after giving birth

Getty/georgeclerk

By Emma Wilkinson

One in five mothers in England attend the emergency department in the year after they give birth, according to an analysis which also found stark variation by ethnicity and deprivation.

Black women, those from the most deprived areas, and those with mental health conditions are far more likely to receive emergency care in the first 12 months postpartum, a study from the Nuffield Trust has found.

It showed that one in ten emergency department visits or emergency admissions occurred in the first two weeks after birth and a quarter in the first six weeks.

Overall, 70% of ED visits in this group did not lead to admission suggesting some could be avoided with better support in the community, especially in the early weeks, the Nuffield Trust concluded.

In two-thirds of cases the mother had at least one diagnosed health condition, the analysis of NHS data over a three-year period showed.