How to access your Maternity records and birth Notes after Your Babies Birth

Whether you just want to talk through what happened during labour and the birth of your baby, or you have specific questions about what happened directly afterwards, getting access to your maternity records and birth notes is your right. Every mother that gives birth to their baby has a right to see their maternity records. In more recent years, local NHS services have recognised the need to offer new mums and their partners the opportunity to talk through their records and what happened at the birth of their child, and demystify any medical terms that may be tricky to understand. Talking through your birth experience can be particularly helpful in situations where you feel you have experienced a traumatic birth. You may want to ask questions about something that took place, or something you don’t understand, and your midwife or another health care professional will be able to help you with this.

What are maternity or handheld notes?

Maternity records are kept throughout pregnancy and birth. These may be paper (‘handheld records’ or ‘handheld notes’) or electronic (‘digital care records’). 

Your records will start when you make your booking appointment (your first appointment when you are pregnant). Typically mums-to-be are given an orange book (or yellow depending on where you live!) at your booking in appointment, when your midwife will go through a medical history with you and answer any questions you have.

If your area uses paper records, you will be given a copy at this appointment.  You keep these records with you through your pregnancy and childbirth. In your records, midwives and doctors note the maternity care they provide to you, including test and scan results. This also includes the care you receive during labour and birth.

If you have paper records, then after your baby is born and discharged from hospital, the hospital keeps the records. If you gave birth at home with NHS care, the midwife who was at the birth will give your records to the local hospital.

Your right to see your maternity records or birth notes after labour

You have a right to see your own health records - you do not need a reason. Sometimes people find it helpful to see their records to understand what happened during their care.

You can ask your GP, midwife, doctor or health visitor to obtain your records so that you can see them. You do not need a form to do this but can simply ask them at any time.

Is there a fee involved for obtaining a copy of my maternity records?

If you require copies, you can be charged for them. We understand the charge is usually in the region of £10-20. However, it is an entirely discretionary fee which means that it is up to the individual hospital to decide whether to charge it. The fee is usually to cover administration or photocopying charges.

How can I get help to understand my maternity/medical records?

Maternity records that are shared with you during your antenatal care should be written in a way that you can understand. However, notes written during labour, for example, may include jargon and technical words. You can ask a health professional to go through them with you.

Your local hospital may run a ‘Birth Afterthoughts’ or ‘Birth Reflections’ service where you can go through your notes and discuss what happened. However, in Bristol currently, this service is not provided at all hospitals and birth centres.

For women who give birth at Southmead or Cossham, they have a 'Birth Afterthoughts' (BAT) service set up which is offered to women and their partners from 3 months after the birth of their baby(s). This is essentially a debrief session and women and their partners can be referred to this by their health visitor, community midwife, GP or a third party such as Bluebell (if women are accessing them for depression or trauma). If you had a home birth but the midwives who cared for you are employed by Southmead or Cossham, you can also use the BAT service.

Why would I want to see my maternity notes or notes from my baby’s birth?

Childbirth is such a huge event that even when everything goes well, it can be difficult to take it all in. Some women will be unhappy at the level of care they have received; others will simply want to understand more about one of their most important life experiences. Obtaining a copy of your hospital records might be the first step in actually answering the important question - ‘what happened to me?’

Some women can experience trauma, whether that stems from gaps in their memory of the labour/birth and not understanding the events that took place or why certain decisions were made. The aim of the BAT service at Southmead/Cossham is to explore that and to speak to a professional about any worries, fears, and feelings of trauma, with the aim of alleviating some of those emotions and fears for peace of mind or to give you confidence for any future pregnancies/labours. The reason it is only offered from three months is because they hope that women and their partners are debriefed in hospital by the staff who cared for them (this is improving but is not always perfect) and the community midwives could also help with some of your concerns. A three-month period allows the dust to settle and gives you an opportunity to decide whether you need this service. 

I live in Bristol and gave birth to my baby at St Michael’s Maternity Hospital, how can I speak with someone about my birth notes?

Currently, we have been told this exact same service does not exist for women who give birth at St Michael’s Hospital, although this is something that is being looked into to see whether a service can be funded. For women who have given birth at St Michael's and who feel that they wish to talk through their birth experience, then your first port of call would be to talk to your community midwife. Your community midwife should be able to answer questions and clarify things for you - and if not then your community midwife can contact either your named obstetric consultant or the obstetrician who was there for your birth (whichever is the most appropriate) who can arrange a follow up appointment. St Michael's also say they make an effort to try and make sure that women are reviewed around the time of their birth or shortly afterwards by their consultant team.

For attendees on our antenatal course, our expert midwives, who you will meet during the first week of the Bump to Cradle course, will also be able to talk though your birth notes, if you have any questions.

We hope this helps clarify the position a little and we will update our website if we hear anything further about a St Michael’s service being funded.