Ministers have been asked to set a definitive target to eliminate “appalling” disparities in maternal deaths as research has shown that black women are almost four times more likely to die from childbirth than white women.
The Women and Equalities Committee also said on Tuesday (18) the government and NHS leadership have “underestimated” the extent to which racism plays a role in perpetuating inequalities.
Research by MBRRACE-UK in November 2022 showed that black women were 3.7 times more likely to die than white women and Asian women were 1.8 times more likely to die than white women.
MPs said there were insufficient existing measures to address the disparity in maternal deaths, as women in the most deprived areas are 2.5 times more likely to die than those in the least deprived areas.
Factors such as ignorance, bias, microaggressions and racism had an impact on the disparity in the frequency of deaths, the committee said in its report, published on Tuesday.
The report quoted a survey by the Muslim Women’s Network which said black Muslim women (especially black African women) were most likely to receive poorer standards of care, followed by south Asian Muslim women (particularly Bangladeshi women).
Chair of the committee, 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.”
She added that the health workforce “has been stretched to its limits” and said staffing shortages in maternity care was a “big concern”.
“We are also afraid the Government and NHS have not fully grasped that racism has played a key part in the complex reasons underlying the disparities, and that eradicating it is part of the solution,” Nokes said.
Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch on Monday (17) admitted that fewer than half the measures envisaged by the government to tackle racial inequality and level up communities had been delivered.
A review by the NHS Race and Health Observatory published last year revealed that racism, racial discrimination, barriers to accessing healthcare and woeful collection of ethnicity data had adversely impacted the health of black, Asian and minority ethnic people for years.
Nokes said, “It is unacceptable that we consistently hear poor quality data on ethnicity is hindering efforts to address inequality. The onus is on authorities to improve data collection practices. We cannot let these women remain invisible to the systems supposed to serve them.”
The report also criticised the Government’s handling of the taskforce set up to tackle disparities in maternity care – it was intended to meet every two months, but hasn’t met for nine months.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson was quoted as saying: “We are absolutely clear that we must ensure maternity care is of the same high standard, regardless of race.
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