Why are so many women dying during pregnancy and what can be done?

The number of women dying during pregnancy or soon after childbirth has reached its highest level in almost 20 years, according to new data. Experts have described the figures as “very worrying”.

Between 2020 and 2022, 293 women in the UK died during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of their pregnancy. With 21 deaths classified as coincidental, 272 in 2,028,543 pregnancies resulted in a maternal death rate of 13.41 per 100,000.

This is a steep rise from the 8.79 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies in 2017 to 2019, the most recent three-year period with complete data. The death rate has increased to levels not seen since 2003 to 2005.

The data comes from MBRRACE-UK, which conducts surveillance and investigates the causes of maternal deaths, stillbirths and infant deaths as part of the national Maternal, Newborn and Infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme (MNI-CORP).

Urgent action is needed to bolster the quality of maternal healthcare, ensure it is accessible to all, and repair the damage inflicted by the pandemic on women’s healthcare services more generally.

Clea Harmer, the chief executive of bereavement charity Sands, said improving maternity safety also needs to be at the top of the UK’s agenda.

The government said it was committed to ensuring all women received safe and compassionate care from maternity services, regardless of their ethnicity, location or economic status.

Anneliese Dodds, the shadow women and equalities secretary, said Labour would seek to reverse the “deeply concerning” maternal mortality figures by training thousands more midwives and health visitors and incentivising continuity of care for women during pregnancy.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 11 January 2024