The survey of 1,391 mothers by the Royal College of Midwives and Net Mums, found that of those with household incomes of less than £15,000 a year, nearly half had not been offered antenatal classes on the NHS. A further 29 per cent had not attended classes they were offered.
Of the women on low-incomes that were not offered classes, 26 per cent were first-time mums, compared to just 9 per cent of first-time mothers with household incomes of more than £40,000 per year.
The findings also revealed that during pregnancy a third of all mothers surveyed felt that they didn’t see their midwife enough. Around 12 per cent of mums said they had only one visit from a midwife, and over half of all women who responded only had two or three visits. This trend continued after the birth of their child.
Louise Silverton, deputy general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said, ‘Some of the results in the survey are encouraging. However, it is a real concern that some women are being poorly served by our community midwifery services. This is particularly so for those on lower incomes, because they are often the ones who need them the most.
'I know the midwives are working very hard out there to deliver high quality care. At the same time many of them are doing it with less staff and fewer resources, and that situation is reflected in these results.
‘It simply reinforces our call for more midwives and for this Government to really realise that standards are falling in maternity services. Without investment I fear they will fall even further.’
During his election campaign David Cameron promised he would tackle the shortage of midwives in England by recruiting an extra 3,000, but the RCN said he had failed to meet that pledge.