In response to growing concerns about the safety of maternity services in England, the King's Fund has set up an independent inquiry with the aim of identifying obstacles to the delivery of improvements in the safety of maternity services and robust strategies for overcoming them. There is already a substantial ... and This background paper summarises what is currently known about the safety of maternity services in England. The paper begins with some background information on trends in numbers of births, place of birth and changes in maternity services. Data is then presented on the type, incidence and causes of adverse outcomes ...