Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that ethnic minority women are adequately represented in research on maternity care.

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR’s Research Inclusion Strategy 2022-2027 sets out how NIHR will become a more inclusive funder of research and widen access to participation in clinical trials for under-represented groups, such as pregnant women and ethnic minorities. In addition to these priorities, the NIHR will specifically consider intersectionality, recognising that multiple social identities overlap to exacerbate the experience of inequities.

In March 2024, the NIHR launched a £50 million ‘Challenge’ funding call for research to tackle inequalities in maternity care, bringing together experts from across the country into a new consortium. The research carried out by the consortium will focus on inequalities before, during, and after pregnancy, and will identify specific areas where measurable improvements can be made.

Furthermore, the NIHR is currently funding two studies focussed on ensuring ethnic minority women are adequately represented in research on maternity care. The first aims to co-produce a toolkit or guidance which can be used to improve the inclusion of women from ethnic minority backgrounds in maternity research. The second aims to develop a guide to support research nurses and midwives to effectively communicate maternal and neonatal healthcare research opportunities to back women.

The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of maternal health, including research on improving the representation of women from ethnic minority backgrounds in research on maternity care.