Bell Ribeiro-Addy shares harrowing experience during parliamentary discussion on black maternal mortality

"So often Black women are viewed as the problem but we could be the solution if you could just listen to us," said Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Bell Ribeiro-Addy
HEARTFELT: Like many others, the MP thanked Tinuke Awe and Clotilde Rebecca Abe for raising awareness of the issue(Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

BELL RIBEIRO-ADDY shared her experience of stillbirth in a parliamentary discussion of black maternal mortality that took place today.

The debate was held because campaign group FiveXMore’s petition, which highlighted that black women are four times more likely to die during childbirth or in the weeks after, received almost 200,00 signatures.

The Labour MP for Streatham spoke about the discrimination she faced during her own pregnancy. She added that her pre-eclampsia was spotted too late, and she was told by medical professionals that either her child would die, or both her child and her would die.

“We are black woman who decide to bring life into this world and that choice has become a matter of life and death,” the politician shared.

“The colour of a woman’s skin should have no bearing on whether she or her child live or die.”

She also highlighted that black children face higher rates of mortality.

After her baby’s heart had stopped beating, Ribeiro-Addy had to go through an 18 hour labour to deliver her daughter.

Florence Eshalomi, who represents Lambeth and Southwark also shared her own maternal experiences and pointed out that she was unaware she had fibroids until her first pregnancy scan.

Calls for change

Kim Johnson, who represents Liverpool Riverside shared her positive experience of giving birth to twins, though echoed other politician’s calls for urgent action to address the disparity.

MP’s also raised the problem of migrant women who cannot access necessary maternal healthcare because they have no recourse to public funds (NRPF). This means that giving birth can end up costing them up to £7,000, leave them indebted or lead them to avoid seeking support altogether.

It was also pointed out that classism intersected with this racial issue, as women may hold off from attending necessary appointments due to fears of losing their jobs.

On several occasions, politicians said it was important that a target to address this healthcare disparity was set.

Nadine Dorries, Minister of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety said research on near misses needed to be conducted, before targets could be set – and pointed out that this was one of campaigner’s key demands.

“Disparities are worrying and they must be addressed and I hear all the calls to do so today. But to do so, we need to understand fundamentally why this issue occurs and why we have the disparities,” the minister said.

“Every woman deserves to have safe care and feel like that her voice is being heard and to be an informed decision maker for her own care.

“The NHS is one of the safest places in the world to have a baby. Few women in the UK die during childbirth.

“Between 2016 and 2018, 270 out of 2.2 million women died during or up to six weeks after pregnancy from causes associated with their pregnancy.

“This equates to 9.7 maternal deaths per 100,000 pregnancies.”

Government women’s health survey

She encouraged black women to take part in the first women’s health strategy for England. Currently, women are being asked to complete a survey and share their experiences.

The minister added that women from black and minority ethnic groups were underrepresented in responses so far.

You can share your experiences here.

Tomorrow FiveXMore will also be releasing their own survey “to better understand the black woman and black birthing person’s maternal health experiences, both positive and negative, so that real change can be achieved.” 

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