BLACK MOTHERS are at a greater risk of dying during pregnancy or immediately after giving birth, according to new research.

The figures released by , a national programme aimed at reducing maternal deaths, says that the rate has reached concerning levels not seen in the last 20 years. 

The risks for women of colour are significantly higher with Black women being three times more likely to die while pregnant or in the immediate postnatal period. This was followed by women from Asian backgrounds who are twice as likely to die in those circumstances. 

Between  2020-2022, the maternal death rate was 13.41 deaths per 100,000 mothers, a significant rise from the 8.7 deaths per 100,000 reported for new mothers between 2017-2019.

Tragic

The Royal College of Midwives (RMC) has slammed the figures as both “tragic and avoidable,” calling on the government to take urgent action to protect Black mothers and their babies who could die during or within six weeks of pregnancy.

The RMC said that maternity services need investment in order to close the gap which meant that Black and minority ethnic women were hardest hit by “chronic” midwife shortages across England. An estimated 2,500 hospital staff are pulled away from important antenatal care to cover labour and birth wards.

Women who are at a greater risk of suffering from complications in pregnancy and childbirth are more likely to receive inadequate care and face hurdles in accessing specialist support. 

Thrombosis and thromboembolism are listed as the leading cause of death in women who died during pregnancy or within six weeks of their pregnancy ending.  COVID, which disproportionately impacted Black communities, was the second most common cause of death according to the MBRRACE-UK figures.

Gill Walton, Chief Executive at the RCM, said: “Pregnancy and childbirth in the UK continue to be safe for most women, but the rise in deaths is a deeply worrying trend. The numbers in the report don’t lie – we are moving backward not forward. 

“The government and the whole of the health service needs to pull together to reverse this trend immediately. Midwife shortages are undermining the ability of maternity staff to deliver the safest possible care. This is fundamentally a failure of policy makers and the Government to get investment quickly to where it is needed at the frontline of care.

She added: “Action is needed nationally, with a multi-agency approach, to address the wider inequalities faced by Black and Asian women. There needs to be more joint working between clinicians so that issues are spotted earlier, better training – and the time to undertake such training – and specialist midwives to meet the increasingly complex needs of women and families.”