Pregnancy: Ethnic Groups

(asked on 29th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Maternal, Newborn and Infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care, published November 2019, which concluded that "black women still have more than five times the risk of dying in pregnancy or up to six weeks postpartum compared to white women".


Answered by
Lord Bethell Portrait
Lord Bethell
This question was answered on 17th July 2020

Analysis of maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths, undertaken by MBRRACE-UK, shows that poor outcomes are much higher for mothers and babies from black/black British and Asian/Asian British ethnic groups and women living in the most deprived areas of the country.

Work to reduce health inequalities around maternal and perinatal mortality rates is being led by Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE, the Chief Midwifery Officer. This includes understanding why mortality rates are higher, considering evidence about what will reduce mortality rates and taking action to reduce mortality rates. The work is multi-disciplinary and involves a range of stakeholder groups, including users of maternity services.

Reticulating Splines