About 20,000 disclosures of domestic abuse are made to maternity services in England every year, according to new analysis that experts say is probably just the tip of a very grim iceberg. Because nothing says "we've got this handled" like a statistic that everyone agrees is an underestimate.

The figures, compiled by the charity For Baby's Sake, suggest that roughly 3.3% of maternity bookings made within NHS trusts across England involved a disclosure of current or non-recent domestic abuse. Applying that proportion to national NHS maternity bookings activity yields the approximately 20,000 annual disclosures. Of the 118 trusts contacted by the charity, 74 provided usable data, and the figures are based on a three-year average of the most recent data available - because nothing streamlines a crisis quite like a partial response rate.

Gill Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said the findings "lay bare" something midwives already know from their day-to-day practice - which is to say, the people doing the actual work were already aware, and now there's a spreadsheet to prove it. "Midwives are often the only professional a pregnant woman sees regularly and alone, which makes them uniquely placed to spot the signs of domestic abuse and respond with care," Walton said. "But recognising a disclosure is only the first step - staff need proper, specialist training to know how to respond and services need the time and resources to follow through with support, so that no disclosure is ever a missed opportunity to protect a parent and their baby." So, to summarise: spot the problem, then actually do something about it. Revolutionary.

Experts have also called for midwives to receive adequate support and training on handling such disclosures, while simultaneously working long hours on busy maternity wards that can also face staff shortages. Because what better way to handle a sensitive, life-altering conversation than to squeeze it into a 10-minute slot between a blood pressure check and a backlog of paperwork?

"Midwives and other maternity staff play such a crucial role when it comes to reporting disclosures of domestic violence which are made to them. However, maternity staff also need better support so they know what the next steps are regarding what to do with these disclosures," said Veronica Oakeshott, interim head of external affairs at Women's Aid. She added: "They're already facing immense pressure working on busy maternity wards, so it's essential that they receive adequate support and training on how to handle these disclosures moving forward."

Judith Rees, chief operating officer and designated safeguarding lead at For Baby's Sake Trust, brought 33 years of NHS experience as a midwife, health visitor and nurse to her assessment: "I know how important the relationship between a maternity professional and a parent can be. Creating the right opportunity to ask about domestic abuse, and knowing how to respond when someone says 'yes', can be life-changing." She added: "Midwives need to understand the impact domestic abuse can have on a parent and their baby, be able to recognise risk and respond safely, and know where to go for specialist support. Pregnancy and the early postnatal period give us a critical window to intervene, and when we get that response right, we have an opportunity to improve outcomes for parents and babies." No pressure, then.

Kate Brintworth, chief midwifery officer for NHS England, offered the official line: "All staff working in NHS maternity and neonatal services are committed to ensuring that any disclosure of domestic abuse will be met with compassion, sensitivity and clear options for support. Midwives receive mandatory safeguarding training, alongside specialist training on how to ask sensitive questions about abuse, and can refer women to specialist domestic abuse services for support with issues such as housing and legal advice where needed." Committed, trained, and - according to the actual midwives - still in need of more time, more resources, and probably a nap.