Leeds has been named as one of best places to have baby in the UK.
The West Yorkshire city was named as the fourth best place to give birth, new research has found. A study by childcare and education experts Little Ones London analysed NHS patient satisfaction rates across a number of categories.
The study analysed mother's experiences with maternity services, including involvement in decisions, time to have skin to skin contact with baby and how little mothers were left alone when worried. The fourth best city in England to give birth in is Leeds with an average satisfaction score of 8.74 out of 10 from patients of maternity services.
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When broken down, this is a result of a score of 8.12 out of 10 when it comes to not being left alone when worried – the third highest of any city in England, as well as scores of 9.40 out of 10 for time having skin to skin contact with baby and 8.69 out of 10 for feelings of involvement with decision making.
Commenting on the study, a spokesperson from Little Ones London said: "Having a baby is one of the biggest events in any parent’s life and there are many aspects of the process that can have a profound impact on the experience as a whole.
"This study provides a fascinating insight for soon-to-be parents as to the cities that offer an exceptional and smooth experience."
The city of Gloucester took the top spot with an overall average satisfaction score of 8.91 out of 10 across all maternity services in the city. This comes as a result of high patient satisfaction rates for time allowed skin to skin contact with the newborn, at 9.81 out of 10 – the highest amongst all cities in England as well as the joint highest score for patients feeling involved in decisions with a satisfaction score of 8.87 out of 10.
The second-best city to give birth in is Plymouth. The Southern city obtained an average patient satisfaction score of 8.83 out of 10. When broken down, this is due to high rankings across each category, but most of all, having the second highest satisfaction rate of 9.65 out of 10 for time having skin to skin contact with their newborn.
Lancaster came in as the third best place in England to give birth. The average satisfaction rate for patients using maternity services in Lancaster is 8.77 out of 10. Lancaster ranks as the second highest scoring city in England when it comes to the category of not being left alone when worried, with a score of 8.18 out of 10.
The city of Exeter has an average patient satisfaction score of 8.70 out of 10, making it the fifth best city to give birth in. This overall score is due to Exeter having the third highest satisfaction rating for the category of patients feeling involved in decision making at 8.78 out of 10. Bath ranked sixth with a score of 8.69 out of 10, just below Exeter. Bath also ranked as the third best city in England when it came to time having skin to skin contact between patients and their newborn with a satisfaction rate of 9.63 out of 10.
The seventh best city to give birth in England is revealed as Newcastle upon Tyne, which has a satisfaction rate of 8.65 out of 10. In fact, Newcastle upon Tyne had the highest satisfaction rating of any city for the category of not being left alone when worried, with a rating of 8.30 out of 10.
Norwich also made the top ten, being the eighth best city in England to give birth. Norwich has an average overall satisfaction rate of 8.62 out of 10. Patients of maternity services in Norwich gave an average rating of 8.55 out of 10 for the category of being involved in decisions – the third highest of any city in England.
Brighton has an overall patient satisfaction rate of 8.61 out of 10, making the seaside city the ninth best city to give birth in, whilst Hereford rounded up the top ten with an average satisfaction score 8.54 out of 10.
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