MP writes to NHS Trust about ‘harrowing’ maternal health inequalities 

An MP has written to NHS trusts across England asking what measures are being taken to improve black maternal health.

Labour MP for Streatham, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, sent the letter on Friday as health professionals and campaigners marked the third annual black maternal health awareness week.

The letter follows a report from the Women and Equalities Select Committee published on April 18, which called for a government target to eliminate maternal health disparities.

The report shows that black women are still almost four times more likely to die in childbirth than white women, and that too many black women receive an unacceptable standard of treatment.

The report also noted that every report published since 2000 has found that mothers from ethnic minority backgrounds face a higher risk of maternal death.

Ms Ribeiro-Addy said: “The Government has known about these lethal health inequalities for decades but we’ve only seen action announced in response to the mainstream attention received in the last couple of years.

“Last week’s Women and Equalities Select Committee Report was very clear that the Government has failed to make good on its promises so far.

“With NHS trusts stepping up while the Government drags its heels, we can learn from the action they are taking to improve outcomes for mothers from ethnic minority backgrounds.” 

Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK) is the group appointed by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) to run the national Maternal, Newborn and Infant clinical Outcome Review Programme (MNI-CORP).

The latest MBRRACE report revealed that black women are 3.7 times more likely, Asian women two times more likely, and women living in deprived areas 2.5 times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than average.

The report also shows that compared to white European women, black African women are 83 per cent more likely to suffer a ‘near miss’ in childbirth, and black Caribbean women are 80 per cent more likely.

Further research has shown that black babies have a 121% increased risk of stillbirth and a 50 per cent increased risk of neonatal death. 

Asian babies have a 55 per cent increased risk of stillbirth and a 66 per cent increased risk of neonatal mortality. 

Ms Ribeiro-Addy wrote: “As you may know, statistics around black maternal health outcomes are harrowing.

“The lack of action and guidance from the Government has led to several NHS Trusts introducing their own measures to address maternal health disparities.

“I would therefore like to inquire as to whether your trust has plans to introduce measures to tackle racial disparities in maternity care, and if so, what these plans may entail.”

A spokeswoman for the Department for Health and social care 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 by increasing training places by up to 3,650 over the past four years, 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 – met last month to focus on how we can eradicate disparities and improve maternity outcomes for all mothers.”

Pictured top: Letters in the office of MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Pictured: Office of Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP)