Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of covid-19 on BAME pregnant women.

A new national collaborative study has just begun to help guide the prevention and management of COVID-19 in pregnant women and their infants. The study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research, will use the UK Obstetric Surveillance System to collect information about all pregnant women admitted to hospital who are confirmed to have the virus infection including the influence of demographic characteristics on outcomes for mother and infant.The information will be analysed to inform ongoing guidance for women and maternity staff as we respond to the pandemic.

It is known that some viral infections are worse in pregnant women but at the moment, there is no evidence that this is the case for COVID-19, but the amount of evidence available is still quite limited.