Ipsos Synthesio – Publication of research in partnership with Sky News

Ipsos in the UK  

In partnership with Sky News, Ipsos Synthesio were commissioned to support an analysis to bring further understanding and insight into the publics experiences of What is it like to have a baby in the UK today?    

Our market leading GenAI-powered Ipsos Synthesio capability centres on social listening, which collects and analyses publicly accessible online conversations about specific topics such as brands, industries, or concepts. Our capability spans analysis of social media, forums, blogs, ratings and reviews, search, and AI platform (e.g. ChatGPT) analysis.  

Today we are publishing our findings alongside our full methodology and analytical processes.  

Sky News initiated the project with data analysis from multiple sources, including surveys of healthcare professionals, CQC surveys, monthly maternity stats and video testimonies from women who have contacted Sky.  

Our report analysed 377,852 publicly available posts and comments about maternity services and experiences from social media platforms across the UK from March 2024–March 2026.  

Our phased analysis unearthed 48 narratives about maternity services in the UK, ranging from staff, childbirth complications, finance, gratitude for care, space and facilities. 15 narratives within the 48 identified were pursued for a deep dive analysis in our final report.  

This deep dive analysis produced several key findings and actionable insights when it comes to online conversations around ‘Maternity services in the UK’:  

• Interactions with medical personnel formed the most discussed narrative, appearing in over a third (37.2%) of all online publications. Patients indicated that continuity of care, responsive communication, and having concerns acknowledged were among the contributing factors to a favourable maternity experience. Less favourable experiences were associated with items such as either less responsive individual interactions or systemic factors of an under-resourced healthcare system.  
• Online conversations regarding UK maternity services exhibited a predominantly negative sentiment, accounting for 47% of all discussions. This negativity was linked to challenging experiences such as baby loss, miscarriages, medical complications, and concerns over the quality of maternity services and patient safety.
• Conversely, the 21% of predominantly positive discussions were often associated with appreciation for responsive care from doctors and midwives, as well as supportive online communities.  

Bairbre Cunningham, Ipsos Synthesio Service lead, said:  

Ipsos Synthesio’s market leading GenAI-powered social listening capability provides partners and clients with real time insights, by revealing public experiences and opinions defining and driving the online conversations.  

This work provides a very clear indication of what people in the UK feel strongly about when it comes to maternity care, particularly their stories and memorable experiences that they most want to talk about– both the good and the bad.  

Our snapshot analysis commissioned by Sky News plays a vital part in enhancing the wider understanding of the online conversations of real people when it comes to the study of experiences of maternity in the UK today.

Chris Howard, Editor, Sky News Data & Forensics:  

Our Data & Forensics team focuses on bringing both depth and breadth to investigations, combining data and reporting to build a clearer understanding of complex issues. For this investigation, partnering with Ipsos has been central - including analysing more than 370,000 public social media posts and comments from the past two years - providing a powerful snapshot of people’s real experiences of maternity services, what matters most to them, and what needs to change.

For further information about our Ipsos Synthesio GenAI capability and to discover how it may be able to support your needs please visit here.  

If you would like to discuss our capability, then please do not hesitate to contact Bairbre Cunningham via email at [email protected]

Notes to editors:  

• Social listening is the process of collecting and analysing publicly accessible online conversations about specific topics such as brands, industries, or concepts. Analysis spans social media, forums, blogs, ratings and reviews.  
• Synthesio study analysed 377,852 publicly available posts and comments about maternity services and experiences from social media platforms across the UK from Mar 2024–Mar 2026.  
• It should be understood, therefore, that social media data is not the same as a representative survey of the population; not everyone is on social media, and the topics those who are choose to talk about on social media may not be a representative selection of all the experiences they face. Instead, its value is in uncovering the stories and narratives that they do want to talk about, and what this reveals about their experiences.  
• This research was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the international quality standard for market research, ISO 20252.  
• The analysis was conducted in line with the MRS code of conduct.  
• To uphold ethical standards and comply with OSA and GDPR, all data sourced by Synthesio is publicly available online (at the time of data collection and analysis, April-May 2026), and no information is collected from private social media accounts or behind paywalls.  
• All data is anonymised and analysed at an aggregated level, with no reference to individuals or identifiable social media accounts.  
• For publication purposes, posts and comments examples (quotes) contained within the Ipsos report are decontextualised and anonymised to eliminate personal identification.