Mums have their say on the best hospital to give birth at in the North East

The North East is outperforming the rest of the country in caring for new mothers, a new survey suggests.

The national maternity survey for England - which asked more than 17,600 women about their experiences of pregnancy and birth - found a drop in the standard of care offered to new mothers on NHS wards nationally.

The poll, from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), showed a mixed picture overall, with many women saying positive things about their care during pregnancy and the actual birth, but a decline in the proportion of women who felt supported after labour and who got help with things such as breastfeeding.

But while no trust received the highest rating of much better than expected’, three of the nine trusts categorised as 'better than expected' were in the North East.

City Hospitals Sunderland, Northumbria Healthcare, and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS trusts were all given the second highest rating in 2018.

Gateshead and County Durham and Darlington trusts scored 'about the same' as other trusts overall.