Growing fears as 7 out of 10 poorest mothers-to-be miss antenatal classes

The survey found 44 per cent of women with household incomes of less than £15,000 had not been offered antenatal classes on the NHS by their midwife and a further 29 per cent did not attend the classes they were offered.

Antenatal classes can be paid for privately though organisations like the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) but are also available on the NHS.

Among women expecting babies for the first time – when the classes are especially useful – 26 per cent of those on low incomes were not offered them, compared with 9 per cent of first-time mothers with household incomes of more than £40,000 per year.

Evidence from the survey, carried out by Netmums and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), suggests women who miss out on NHS classes do not then go on to attend NCT classes.

Antenatal classes cover topics such as labour and giving birth, breastfeeding and caring for newborns.

The survey also found that a third of all women said they did not see their midwife enough during pregnancy.

Those on the lowest incomes felt this the most strongly, although almost 60 per cent of them were still satisfied. After the birth, 12 per cent of all women only had one visit from a midwife while 51 per cent had two or three.

Many women felt they wanted more, with 24 per cent of all women saying they had not had enough help with learning how to feed their baby.

The government’s policy is for all women to be offered a home birth among other choices, yet figures released last week by the Office for National Statistics showed just 2.5 per cent of women gave birth at home in 2010.

In today’s survey, 64 per cent of women said they were not offered a home birth and most said they were not told they could wait until later in pregnancy to decide.

The survey of almost 1,400 mothers was launched the day before the RCM’s annual conference in Brighton. Sally Russell, director of Netmums, said: “Having a baby is a life-changing experience and where care is poor there can be long-lasting effects.

“Most mums-to-be appreciate the efforts of the midwives who help them through pregnancy and then again after the baby is born, but as services become increasingly overstretched, it is a real worry that the families living on the very lowest incomes are being even more disadvantaged.”

Louise Silverton, deputy general secretary of the RCM, 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 midwives are working very hard out there to deliver high-quality care.”