21 Sep, 2026
Around 20,000 disclosures of domestic abuse are estimated to be made to maternity services in England every year, according to new analysis by The For Baby's Sake Trust.
This new data, which is not routinely collated and published at a national level, highlights the vital role maternity professionals play in identifying abuse. It points to an urgent need for standardised data collection, specialist domestic abuse training on the impact of domestic abuse in pregnancy and on babies, and national investment in early interventions to break cycles of domestic abuse and give every baby the best start in life.
Domestic abuse during pregnancy and early childhood can shape a baby’s developing stress response and may later affect emotional regulation, learning, confidence and relationships. These outcomes are not inevitable. Identifying abuse during pregnancy and connecting parents and babies with the right support early can help change the course of a child’s life. Maternity services therefore offer a vital opportunity to recognise abuse and help families access support.
“For people subject to domestic abuse, pregnancy can be an extremely frightening time, with abuse often escalating alongside fears for their own life and their child's. We know survivors are more likely to disclose to healthcare workers than to any other professional, but too often opportunities are missed or victims don’t get the vital support they need at a time when they’re most vulnerable. That's why midwives, GPs and every other professional involved in someone's pregnancy must have the training, confidence and support to be able to recognise domestic abuse and then respond appropriately. We owe it to survivors and their babies to make sure no appointment is a missed opportunity to tackle and prevent domestic abuse.”
Dame Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales
The charity submitted Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to all NHS Trusts in England providing maternity services to better understand the scale of domestic abuse disclosures during the perinatal period. Of the 118 Trusts contacted, 74 provided usable data over a multi-year average. Across these Trusts, an average of 3.3% of maternity bookings involved a disclosure of current or non-recent domestic abuse, predominantly disclosed to midwives. Applying this proportion to national NHS maternity bookings activity suggests there are approximately 20,000 disclosures of domestic abuse made within maternity services in England every year.
"Domestic abuse during pregnancy can have significant psychological and physical consequences. It is associated with poorer maternal mental health and adverse obstetric outcomes, including preterm birth and low birth weight. For babies, the impact may begin before birth and continue after delivery, particularly where trauma affects a parent’s sense of safety, emotional availability and confidence in responding to their baby. Difficulties can emerge around feeding, sleep, soothing, closeness and the early parent–infant relationship. These effects can also reach siblings and wider family relationships, and for some families contribute to patterns of trauma and relational difficulty across generations. Midwives and other maternity staff are often the professionals who first hear these disclosures. They need clear safeguarding pathways, timely access to specialist domestic abuse and perinatal mental health expertise, and appropriate support themselves. A compassionate and coordinated response at the point of disclosure can therefore matter greatly for the pregnant woman, for her baby, and for the wider family system.”
Dr Panos Vythoulkas, Lead Perinatal Clinical Psychologist, Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service, North London NHS Foundation Trust
The Trust believes the estimated 20,000 figure is the tip of the iceberg in terms of levels of domestic abuse impacting babies and parents, as many parents may not feel safe or confident to make a disclosure following routine enquiry, or at any other point in their maternity journey. The charity also found discrepancies in how disclosures are recorded across NHS Trusts, and urges Government to standardise data collection, and to publish annual reports that inform a robust response in this critical timeframe for intervention.
“These findings are a stark reminder that domestic abuse during pregnancy does not only affect the parent experiencing it. It affects the baby too. We know that the experiences a baby has during pregnancy can shape their early development. That makes pregnancy an incredibly important opportunity to identify domestic abuse and offer families the right support as early as possible.”
The Rt Hon Dame Andrea Leadsom DBE, Founder and Executive Chair of the 1001 Critical Days Foundation
The For Baby’s Sake Trust is calling for:
- Consistent implementation of the routine enquiry about domestic abuse across maternity services, with every parent given safe, appropriate opportunities to disclose abuse and receive help for themselves and their baby during pregnancy and the postnatal period.
- A nationally standardised approach to recording domestic abuse disclosures within maternity services, which includes who the disclosure is made to, alongside consistent separation of current and non-recent domestic abuse disclosures to support with action and analysis. They would also like to see this data collated and published on an annual basis to inform the local and national response to domestic abuse.
- Mandatory specialist domestic abuse training (which stands alone from existing safeguarding training) for all midwives, neonatal staff and maternity professionals that: increases understanding of the impact of domestic abuse in pregnancy and the first 1001 days; includes practical support and resources; and supports a trauma-informed approach to asking parents about domestic abuse and responding to parents who disclose abuse and harm.
- Greater understanding and response to babies as victims of domestic abuse in their own right within healthcare systems.
- Funding for trauma-informed, whole family interventions to break the cycle of domestic abuse and address its impact on babies, such as For Baby’s Sake, available in every local area.
"These findings lay bare something midwives already know from their day-to-day practice: a booking appointment or a routine check can be the moment a woman finally feels safe enough to speak. Midwives are often the only professional a pregnant woman sees regularly and alone, which makes them uniquely placed to spot the signs of domestic abuse and respond with care. But recognising a disclosure is only the first step - staff need proper, specialist training to know how to respond and services need the time and resources to follow through with support, so that no disclosure is ever a missed opportunity to protect a parent and their baby. We welcome this research and The For Baby's Sake Trust's call for standardised data collection and investment in this area."
Gill Walton, Chief Executive of The Royal College of Midwives
These recommendations build on wider national work to improve maternity safety and outcomes, including: The For Baby’s Sake Trust’s contribution to the work of the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce; responses to findings and recommended actions from the Independent Investigation into Maternity and Neonatal Services in England; and the government’s ongoing work through the Steps to Safety programme, which supports healthcare professionals to recognise and respond to domestic abuse.
"A visit to the midwife is currently one of the only times you are likely to be routinely asked if you feel safe at home. Pregnancy offers one of the greatest opportunities we have to intervene early to protect babies and children from the harm of domestic abuse, and to connect families with timely intervention and support. Our findings show that maternity professionals are recording tens of thousands of disclosures every year, but to break cycles of domestic abuse and give every baby the best start in life, we need to ensure standardisation of data collection, specialist training on the impact of domestic abuse in pregnancy and on babies, and funding for interventions for the parents and babies impacted. We know domestic abuse can have devastating consequences for parents and babies alike, contributing to poor maternal outcomes and increasing the risk of harm before a baby is even born. Every disclosure represents a vital opportunity to protect a parent and their baby: now and into the future.”
Lauren Seager-Smith, CEO of The For Baby’s Sake Trust
METHODOLOGY
The For Baby’s Sake Trust submitted Freedom of Information requests to all NHS Trusts in England providing maternity services in March 2026, and recorded responses up until July 2026.
- 118 NHS Trusts were contacted.
- 74 Trusts provided usable data (63% response rate).
- 23 Trusts did not respond.
- Remaining responses were either incomplete or unsuitable for analysis, with most unable to respond to the request within the FOI restricted timeframe.
NHS Trusts were asked to provide information on maternity bookings and/or births, and domestic abuse disclosures made to midwives (with a separate question on disclosures to other maternity staff) during the perinatal period. Across responding Trusts, an average of 3.3% of maternity bookings involved a disclosure of current or non-recent domestic abuse.
National estimates were calculated using NHS Maternity Services Monthly Statistics (February 2026), which reported 51,735 maternity bookings in England that month. Annualising this figure produces an estimated 620,820 maternity bookings each year. Applying the average disclosure rate suggests approximately 20,487 domestic abuse disclosures annually.
The estimate relates to disclosures, not individual parents, as the questions sent via FOI requested numbers of disclosures, rather than asking for numbers of people disclosing. The For Baby’s Sake Trust also requested disclosures to midwives only, as well as additional data on disclosures to any other health professional, but some NHS Trusts were unable to distinguish who disclosures were made to.
The data includes both current and non-recent domestic abuse disclosures, because most NHS Trusts did not distinguish between them in their responses. Only six NHS Trusts responded with distinctions between current and non-recent domestic abuse. Within this smaller sample, approximately 1% of maternity bookings involved current domestic abuse and 5% involved non-recent domestic abuse.
Differences in recording practices (and limitations within the FOI timeframe) meant data relating to demographics, referrals and disclosures to different staff groups could not be robustly analysed nationally, despite these questions being included in the original FOI. Individual NHS Trust-level data has not been compared because recording differences between organisations limit direct comparison. The For Baby’s Sake Trust calls for future research to focus on demographic data to better understand disclosure rates, referral pathways and access to domestic abuse support across the parent population.
The findings reveal a higher level of disclosure than previously reported in national literature. However, The For Baby’s Sake Trust cautions that differences in recording practices, which is an area that demands urgent attention, mean comparisons should be treated carefully.
