Higher rates of ethnic minority stillbirths at Derby and Burton hospitals: Study

A NEW study has found black and Asian women are experiencing higher rates of stillbirth at Derby and Burton’s hospitals, writes Eddie Bisknell.

It comes three months after Derbyshire officials said ethnicity was not felt to be a factor in rising local stillbirth rates.

Data from the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB) shows that women from a black Caribbean background are having five times as many stillbirths as white women. Women from an Asian Indian background are experiencing more than double the rate of stillbirths when compared to the current average for their white peers.

Black Caribbean women are currently having 26.32 stillbirths per 1,000 births as of April 2023, alongside 15.56 stillbirths per 1,000 births for Asian Indian women, while the overall rate, including white patients, is 5.31 stillbirths, figures revealed.

This comes in the middle of a review into stillbirths at the hospital trust, with the average rate at Derby and Burton far above the national average of 3.3 per 1,000 births.

A wider review is being carried out after an initial sample from December to January – with 11 cases – was found to be too small to provide any viable insight.

This larger review, with a perinatal focus not strictly on stillbirths, a new report disclosed. It is due to be completed by the end of July and a final report written and published in October, the trust said. The number of cases within the wider review has not yet been disclosed, but the trust has said not all cases were unexpected deaths.

Chris Weiner, chief medical officer at the Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board had said in April: “At this point, we don’t know what is causing the rise in stillbirths. It is a matter of concern and we want to look into what is actually happening.”

Meanwhile, the trust is also displaying rates of perinatal (7.31 per 1,000) and neonatal deaths (2.37 per 1,000) which are both way above the respective national averages (4.86 per 1,000 and 1.53 per 1,000).

Perinatal deaths are those which occur anywhere between the time a woman becomes pregnant and up to a year after giving birth, while neonatal deaths are those which occur in the first 28 days of a baby’s life.

There are around 6,000 births a year at Royal Derby Hospital and 3,500 at Chesterfield Royal Hospital. The Derby and Burton trust said for the many thousands of families who have babies at Derby and Burton hospitals, the vast majority of experiences will be joyous, making it all the more painful when families lose a baby.

Officials previously indicated stillbirths may be higher at UHDB because it handles more complex cases, including premature births and “foetal abnormalities”.

(Local Democracy Reporting Service)