A CHARITY has launched an inquiry into the dangers faced by women from ethnic minority backgrounds who are at a higher risk of serious harm or death in pregnancy and childbirth.

Birthrights, a non-profit organisation protecting the human rights in childbirth, says women from ethnic minorities are frequently let down by maternity services.

The year-long inquiry will gather views from parents, midwives, obstetricians and anti-racism campaigners and comes after figures from the UK Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths published in 2019 blamed racial discrimination, stereotypes and cultural barriers as contributing factors.

Tricia Boahene, one of the mothers giving evidence, had concerns her baby might have had jaundice when she left hospital, but felt midwives failed to take her seriously.

Speaking to BBC News, she said: “We could definitely tell that he was jaundiced and the healthcare professionals just couldn’t see it and that is really scary.

“The healthcare professionals really struggled to recognise the jaundice, because my son is darker skinned.

“I do feel perhaps if he was lighter, even lighter but still black, they may have noticed it a lot sooner.”

Although death in pregnancy or childbirth is rare, black women are four times more likely to die during or up to the first six weeks after pregnancy than white women.

Ethnic minority were also found to access antenatal care later in pregnancy, have fewer antenatal checks and ultrasound scans, less screening and were less likely to receive pain relief in labour.

In particular, black African women were more likely to deliver by emergency Caesarean section.

NHS England says it is working on a new strategy to implement in maternity and neonatal care services to combat these statistics.

Birthrights chief executive Amy Gibbs said: “UK law demands everyone has equal access to safe, respectful maternity care but we are failing to safeguard black and brown people’s basic rights – to survive childbirth, to be treated with dignity, to have their bodies and choices respected.”

Chairing the inquiry is Shaheen Rahman QC, who commented: “We want to understand the stories behind the statistics, to examine how people can be discriminated against due to their race and to identify ways that this inequity can be redressed.”