A new report from the Women and Equalities Committee is calling for faster progress in tackling the “appalling” higher death rates for Black women and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds during childbirth.

The report – which was compiled following two days of interviews with medical specialists, charities, experts and government ministers – says racism has played a key role in creating health disparities, but that the many complex causes are “still not fully understood”.

In the UK, Black women are currently almost four times as likely to die during childbirth than their white counterparts, while women in the most deprived areas are over two times more likely to die than those in the least deprived areas.  

One of the main barriers to improving these disparities outlined in the report is a shortage of maternity care staff and funding, which the committee argues is preventing important safety measures from being implemented, including a continuity of carer.

It also argues that missing and inadequate data collection on ethnicity is a “persistent challenge” – and calls on the NHS and the government to do better when it comes to ensuring Black women are represented in healthcare data and research.

Commenting on the new report, Caroline Nokes MP, chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, said it was “shocking” that Black women continue to face such a risk.  

“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,” she said.

Highlighting the need to address staffing shortages and acknowledge the full role that racism plays “in the complex reasons underlying the disparities”, Nokes continued by commenting on the lack of data available for those fighting to end the disparities.

“It is unacceptable that we consistently hear poor quality data on ethnicity is hindering efforts to address inequality,” she said. “The onus is on authorities to improve data collection practices. We cannot let these women remain invisible to the systems supposed to serve them.

“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.” 

Responding to the report, 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.”

An NHS spokesperson added: “The NHS is committed to ensuring that all women receive high-quality care before, during and after their pregnancy, and has provided £6.8 million to help local health systems reduce health inequalities, while developing robust Equity and Equality guidance that promotes safe, compassionate care for every family.

“Despite improvements to maternity services in England over the past decade, we know there is more to be done, and we will review the Committee’s recommendations as we continue to take action to make maternity care safer, more personalised and more equitable for all women, babies, and families.”

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