Black women four times more likely to die from childbirth

MPs are calling on the government to eliminate “appalling” disparities in maternal deaths, after a new report found that Black women are almost four times more likely to die from childbirth than white women.

The report found that disparities were even more extreme when comparing levels of deprivation, with women living in deprived areas 2.5 times more likely to die than those in the most affluent areas.

“Shameful” that action hasn’t been taken sooner

Black maternal health was written by the Women and Equalities Committee, a Commons Select Committee which holds the government to account on equality law and policy.

Chair of the Committee, Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP, said: “NHS births are among the safest in the world and yet we continue to see appalling disparities in maternal deaths. It is shocking that black women are almost four times more likely to die from childbirth than white women.

“Thanks to the tireless work of campaigners, more attention has been paid to maternal health disparities in recent years, but improvements are not happening quickly enough.”

Ms Nokes says that one of the Committee’s biggest concerns is NHS staffing shortages which is reducing the quality of care mothers are receiving.

She added that poor quality data on ethnicity is hindering efforts to address inequalities, and she calls on local authorities to improve data collection practices.

“Government must be more ambitious and set a national target to end disparities. It is frankly shameful that we have known about these disparities for at least 20 years. It cannot take another 20 to resolve,” she concludes.

Government has underestimated the role of racism

The report states the reasons for these disparities are multiple, complex and not fully understood, and fixating on any one cause risks over-simplifying the problem and placing blame on the very women who are most at risk.

The committee says that the government and NHS leadership have underestimated the extent to which racism plays a role in these disparities, and they are now calling for better training for healthcare staff so they are able to deliver “personalised, effective and respectful care”.

The report also calls on the government to:

• Increase the annual budget for maternity services to £200–350 million from the next financial year
• Publish measures for gauging the success of the Maternity Disparities Taskforce (who have not met for nine months)
• Together with NHS England, set out their approach for assessing and monitoring the strategies of local maternity services (including publishing clear timescales)
• Publish a cross-government target and strategy for eliminating maternal health disparities (which the Maternity Disparities Taskforce will consult on).

Maternity Disparities Taskforce will now focus on how disparities can be eradicated

In response to the report’s findings, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “While the NHS is already one of the safest places to give birth in the world, we are absolutely clear that we must ensure maternity care is of the same high standard, regardless of race.

“We’ve invested £165 million since 2021 to grow the maternity workforce and are promoting careers in midwifery with an extra 3,650 training places per year, while every local NHS maternity system has a plan in place to tackle disparities on a local level.

“The Maternity Disparities Taskforce – a collective of mothers, clinicians and key organisations – is being chaired today by Minister Maria Caulfield to focus on how we can eradicate disparities and improve maternity outcomes for all mothers.”