Black British mothers experience a greater risk of poor outcomes during their pregnancy, or after giving birth.
The British government has committed to tackling disparities in maternal mortality
rates, saying it was “completely unacceptable” that pregnancy
and birth were riskier for women from ethnic minorities than for
white women.
Maternal deaths in Britain occur in fewer than 1 in 10,000
pregnancies, official data shows. From 2015 to 2017, 209 mothers
died from pregnancy-related causes, out of more than 2.2 million
women who gave birth in the United Kingdom.
While overall maternal mortality rates had fallen over the
past decade, the government said, evidence pointed to a widening
gap between women from different ethnic backgrounds.
It said Black British mothers were five times more likely
than white mothers to die in pregnancy or within the first six
weeks after childbirth.
“It’s completely unacceptable for women to experience
greater risk of poor outcomes during their pregnancy, or after
giving birth because of the colour of their skin,” said Minister
Nadine Dorries, whose portfolio includes patient safety.
READ MORE: Calls for an inquiry into BAME deaths grow in the United Kingdom
Measures to reduce disparities
The risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes was also
three times higher for mothers of mixed ethnicity than for white
mothers, and twice as high for women of Asian ethnicity.
Women from all ethnic minorities were also at greater risk
than their white counterparts of their pregnancies resulting in
a pre-term birth, stillbirth, neonatal death or a baby born with
low birth weight.
Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch was meeting academics,
public health experts and regional health service managers on
Wednesday to discuss what more could be done to reduce the
disparities.
The government said it had already taken steps such as
changing procedures to ensure greater continuity of care from a
midwife for women from ethnic minorities during pregnancy, birth
and the period after birth.
Looming virus threat
The issue of health disparities between different ethnic groups in Britain has come to the fore due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Black and Asian people in England are up to 50 percent more likely to die after becoming infected with the virus, according to an official study.
Recent statistics show Black men and women are nearly twice as likely to die from coronavirus in England and Wales as white people. The figures are a grim reminder of the inequalities of this disease. They were released by a UK government agency which went on to say people of Bangladeshi and Pakistani backgrounds also have a significantly higher chance of dying. Experts say inequalities are only part of the reason – but it’s a similar story in several other western countries.
Source: Reuters