Figures show maternal death rate race disparity
Figures showing the risk of maternal death being almost four times higher among women from black ethnic minority backgrounds compared with white women in the UK have been published.
The figures, which relate to 2019 - 2021, have been released by MBRRACE-UK, a collaboration involving the University of Leicester.
The MBRRACE-UK collaboration (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries), led from Oxford Population Health's National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, looked at data on women who died during, or up to six weeks after, pregnancy between 2019 and 2021 in the UK.
The report showed the risk of maternal death in 2019 - 2021 was almost four times higher among women from black ethnic minority backgrounds compared with white women.
Marian Knight, 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."
Source: BBC News, 11 May 2023