Maternal Mortality: Ethnic Groups

(asked on 18th April 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason maternal mortality rates are higher among BAME women.


Answered by
Jackie Doyle-Price Portrait
Jackie Doyle-Price
This question was answered on 25th April 2019

The higher rates of maternal mortality experienced by black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) women is a complex and serious issue. The Department has commissioned the Policy Research Unit in Maternal and Neonatal Health and Care at Oxford University to undertake a research project in 2019-20 to investigate the factors associated with excess perinatal and maternal mortality. The Department will use findings from research to inform future maternity policies.

Current plans to reduce inequalities are set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, we aim to tackle maternal mortality inequality through the introduction of an enhanced continuity of carer model. By 2024, 75% of women from BAME communities and other vulnerable women will receive continuity of care from their midwife. This will also help reduce pre-term births, hospital admissions, and the need for intervention during labour.

Reticulating Splines