Black women have a higher risk of maternal mortality in Britain

• Aparna Sreevalsan
• 2 June, 2023

BLACK women are four times more likely than white women to die while pregnant or shortly after childbirth, according to MBRRACE, a national initiative that examines and analyses the causes of maternal and infant mortality in the UK.

The MBRRACE-UK project is directed by Oxford Population Health’s National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU).

The cause of this racial discrepancy is still unknown. It’s most likely attributable to a mix of circumstances, including socioeconomic and pre-existing health issues.

Even though this analysis only contains data from 2019 to 2021, prior publications reveal that maternal death rates have remained mostly stable for the last decade or longer.

The key data show that:

• the risk of maternal death in 2019 – 2021 was almost four times higher among women from Black ethnic minority backgrounds compared with White women.
• women living in the most deprived areas have a maternal mortality rate more than twice as high as women living in the least deprived areas.
• numerous studies have found that black women receive less maternity care than women of other ethnic backgrounds, which may contribute to lower health outcomes.

Professor Marian Knight MBE, professor of Maternal and Child Population Health at Oxford Population Health and maternal reporting lead, said: “Persistent disparities in maternal health remain. It is critical that we are working towards more inclusive care where women are listened to, their voices are heard, and we are acting upon what they are telling us.”

According to the NHS Race and Health Observatory, many black people face dismissive and judgmental attitudes from healthcare personnel.

The report suggests some recommendations to make a change. It suggests,

• Current NHS measures, such as recruiting more diverse personnel and revising research objectives, are a start in the right direction.
• Staff from more varied backgrounds are more likely to empathise with patients and understand their circumstances.
• Greater study that includes black patients would assist healthcare workers better respond to the special health requirements of these people.
• To reduce maternal mortality, midwifery education must directly address the racial preconceptions that lead some healthcare workers to dismiss the legitimacy of others’ stories.
• Gynaecology and obstetrics researchers must aggressively involve black women in their studies to ensure that their unique needs and concerns are addressed.