Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on reducing the rate of (a) stillbirths and (b) (i) neonatal and (ii) maternal deaths in England by 50% by 2030.

The national maternity safety ambition is to reduce the rates of stillbirth, neonatal and maternal mortality, and infant brain injury to half of the 2010 rates by 2025, and to reduce the rate of preterm birth to 6% by 2025. These aims are unlikely to be met, and while considerable progress has been made overall in reducing the stillbirth rate and neonatal mortality rate since 2010, both rates increased in 2021, and progress has since stalled. There has also been an increase in maternal mortality.

The national maternity safety ambition for stillbirths is to halve the 2010 rate by 2025, down to 2.5 stillbirths per 1,000 births. The most recent figure is 3.8 stillbirths per 1,000 births in 2024. In addition, the safety ambition for neonatal death is to halve the 2010 rate by 2025, down to one neonatal death per 1,000 live births. The most recent figure is 1.4 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023. Finally, the safety ambition for maternal mortality is to halve the 2010 rate by 2025, down to 5.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 maternities. The most recent figure is 12.8 maternal deaths per 100,000 maternities in 2021 to 2023.

On 23 June 2025, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced an independent, national investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services to understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies, and families experience unacceptable care.

We are also taking action now, including: a new Maternity Outcome Signalling System that will flag unusually high rates of term stillbirth, neonatal death, and brain injury to prompt rapid review of any safety concerns; developing a Maternal Care Bundle to tackle the main causes of maternal death and harm; and piloting Martha’s Rule in maternity and neonatal units in 14 trusts in six regions.