Serious birth injury risk rises to highest level in England since 2020
6 reported1 unconfirmed
NHS figures show women in England are at their highest risk of suffering a serious injury while giving birth since records began in 2020. The rate of the most serious type of tear during childbirth rose to 31.1 in every 1,000 births in the first quarter of 2026, the highest since monitoring started. The rate of postpartum haemorrhage also increased during 2025 to 31.2 in every 1,000 births, the highest annual rate over five years of data collection. Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Helen Morgan, who obtained the figures from NHS England, called for maternity services to be treated as a national crisis. The government is preparing to publish an action plan by the end of the year, but pressure is growing for sooner action. Some experts suggested the rise in tears could be due to better diagnosis rather than worsening services, while incomplete NHS birth data was also flagged as a concern.
What’s reported
The rate of third- and fourth-degree perineal tears rose to 31.1 in 1,000 births in January-March 2026, up from 25 in 1,000 when figures were first published in June 2020.
The rate of postpartum haemorrhage (loss of 1.5 litres of blood) rose from 25.6 in 1,000 to 31.65 in 1,000 in 2025, then slightly dropped to 31.2 in 1,000 in early 2026.
Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, obtained the figures from NHS England and described the trend as a "national crisis."
The government expanded Martha’s rule to every maternity and neonatal unit in England last week, giving women and parents the right to a second opinion.
Outcomes of more than 85,000 of 542,235 births in 2024-25 (14.8%) were missing from the NHS’s Hospital Episodes Statistics dataset, along with over 100,000 of 545,149 births in 2023-24.
Dr Kim Thomas, chief executive of the Birth Trauma Association, said the recorded rise in tears could be due to better diagnosis, older mothers, Asian women being more prone to tears, or the NHS’s common use of forceps.
Open questions
Whether the rise in serious tears reflects worsening maternity services or improved diagnosis, as Dr Kim Thomas noted both possibilities.
Key figures
Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat health spokesperson
Dr Kim Thomas, chief executive of the Birth Trauma Association
Clare Livingstone, head of professional policy and practice at the Royal College of Midwives
Donna Ockenden, senior midwife and childbirth safety expert
Lady Amos, author of a government-commissioned report on childbirth care
Sources: The Guardian
