NHS England · NMPA · MBRRACE-UK · CQC
Birth Intelligence
The UK's maternity data, made clear.
Clinical outcomes, safety ratings and patient experience - explained in plain English, so families can make informed choices about where to give birth.
We won't spam you - but expect an email when we launch!
Example Maternity Unit
Riverside General Hospital
22.7%
Clinical read
At 22.7%, this is in line with the national average - a typical rate for an NHS unit of this type.
England's maternity units, at a glance
177
NHS obstetric units tracked
898k+
births represented every year
CQC maternity ratings across England
47% of units carry a Requires Improvement or Inadequate rating
Caesarean section rate by unit
Outcomes vary meaningfully depending on where you give birth
Range across 177 units with published data. A higher or lower rate isn't inherently better or worse - see each unit's context notes.
The data exists.
It just isn't for you.
MBRRACE-UK publishes stillbirth and neonatal death rates for every trust, the NMPA (National Maternity and Perinatal Audit) publishes C-section rates, induction rates and staffing ratios, the CQC inspects every maternity service, and NHS England publishes patient satisfaction data every month.
All of it is public, and all of it is genuinely useful - but it's published in PDFs and spreadsheets written for clinicians and commissioners, not for a woman at 28 weeks trying to work out where to give birth.
Birth Intelligence takes that same data and puts it into language that doesn't require a medical degree to understand.
Why this matters
Beyond anecdotes. Beyond scare stories. The data, explained.
Postcode, fear, a friend's difficult experience, something read in a WhatsApp group or a Mumsnet thread - these are understandable ways to make a decision when the actual data feels out of reach. Birth Intelligence takes the same public NHS data and gives families a clearer starting point: no rankings, no scare tactics, just the figures explained the way a clinician would explain them to you in clinic.
- Choose where to give birth with more confidence
- Understand what a CQC rating actually means for you
- See intervention rates in context, not as a red flag on their own
- Know what questions are worth asking your midwife or obstetrician
What you'll find on every unit profile
Clinical outcomes, not headlines
C-section rates, induction and instrumental delivery are each shown against the national average, sourced directly from NHS Hospital Episode Statistics and the NMPA (National Maternity and Perinatal Audit).
Safety ratings and patient experience
Every unit's CQC (Care Quality Commission) rating - overall and maternity-specific - alongside NHS Friends & Family Test recommendation scores.
Plain language - no dumbing down
Every clinical term is explained in plain English, and every metric comes with context. A high C-section rate, for example, doesn't mean a unit is providing worse care - it may simply reflect a more complex caseload. We show you the figure and the reasoning behind it, not a verdict.
Every figure sourced and linked
Nothing on this site is estimated or editorialised. Every number links back to the NHS, CQC, MBRRACE-UK or NMPA publication it came from, so you can check it yourself if you want to.
Built to support informed conversations - not to rank hospitals or replace clinical advice.
Who built this
Built by an NHS obstetrician
I see patients every week who don't have access to the information they'd need to make this decision well, and I know from experience - even as a clinician - how long it takes to piece together a proper picture of a unit's outcomes from what's publicly available.
What I want is for women to walk into that conversation with their midwife or obstetrician already informed, rather than starting from nothing or going on whatever they've picked up from a forum.
This isn't a ranking of hospitals. It's meant to show you what the data actually says, what it's likely to mean for you, and what's worth asking about - so the choice you make is one you understand, not one you're guessing at.
Be first to know.
One email when we launch. Nothing else.