NHS England chief midwifery officer Kate Brintworth said maternity care “simply isn’t at the level” it should be.
NHS England was providing “intensive support” to services and the report would be used to improve care, she added.
But Gill Walton, of the Royal College of Midwives, pointed out there had been multiple reports like this over the past decade.
“Despite these recurrent themes, nothing has fundamentally changed,” she said.
“We’re calling on the government to draw a line under this here and now, to work with us on resolving these problems and to build maternity services we can all be proud of.”
