A recently released UK report has found that too many black women experience healthcare treatment that falls short of acceptable standards, and that racism and a lack of funding are major reasons why they are four times more likely to die during childbirth than white women.
The British Government and the National Health Service (NHS) have underestimated the role of racism in maternal outcomes and must set more tangible targets to improve maternity services for all women, according to the House of Commons’ women and equalities committee.
Funds are also needed to tackle staff shortages and improve care, the panel said in its report, reiterating calls from chancellor Jeremy Hunt when he led the health and social care committee to raise the annual maternity budget by as much as £350m, Bloomberg reports.
Racial disparity in maternity care has long been an issue, particularly in countries like the US and UK, but little has changed in recent decades. The report found many of the problems have been documented for 20 years, yet remedial steps have only been taken in the past five years.
Women in the most deprived areas of Britain are also 2.5 times more likely to die in childbirth than those in more affluent places, according to the findings.
The statistics follow a maternity scandal in the UK’s West Midlands. An independent review published last year found more than 200 babies and mothers could have survived at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital if they had received better care.
The government has set up numerous maternity task forces in recent years, to little effect, the committee said. Instead, it advised specific targets to measure improvements, efforts to gather more data on the experiences and outcomes of black and ethnic minority women, and better educating staff on disparities.
Black maternal health
Business Day article – Probe shows racism is cause of black maternal deaths in UK (Restricted access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
NHS maternity scandal now expected to exceed 1 500 cases
Final report on UK maternity scandal that led to 100s of brain-damaged or stillborn
Report exposes ‘widespread and overwhelming’ racial discrimination in NHS
Wide ethnic minority health inequalities in England — GP Patient Survey data