Today’s MBRRACE-UK report – Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care – looks at the causes of death for mothers from 2020-2022. As always, as we read the report, our thoughts go out to the families who have lost their loved ones.
Tragically the report shows that more women died than in previous years, and many of the causes remain the same.
Nearly 8 out of 10 women who died could have received better care, and for nearly half of women who died this may have made a difference to the outcome. There are huge opportunities to improve care and save mothers’ lives, but the system needs to support professionals with enough resource – staffing, equipment, access to translation services – and training to improve knowledge, assessment, escalation, and treatment.
Kayleigh Griffiths MBE, who is a member of Baby Lifeline’s Family Voices Group and one of the mothers who led a campaign to get the review into maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said:
“I think it is hugely disappointing to know that despite knowing the main causes of deaths and the inequalities that persist, the maternal death rates are going in the wrong direction.”
Emma Litvinova-Levermore, another Baby Lifeline Family Voices Group member, added:
“…What will it take to ensure maternity safety is a priority for all, for dedicated investment to make this happen, for much needed policy & systemic changes, and so much more.”
Baby Lifeline joined MBRRACE’s lay summary writing group this year, and our key message at the launch conference for this report sets out what we believe is fundamental for improvement:
To improve care for women and birthing people, all health professionals caring for pregnant women must be supported to have the training, skills and resource they need to give the best and safest care possible – to spot red flags, escalate appropriately, and follow best practice guidance.
Inequalities persist
Inequalities persist across different ethnicities and for those living in deprived areas. In 2020 to 2022, Black women were three times more likely to die during or up to six weeks after pregnancy when compared with White women. Women from an Asian ethnic backgrounds were almost two times more likely to die when compared with White women. More than 1 in 10 women who died during or up to a year after pregnancy were at severe and multiple disadvantage, and women living in the most deprived areas of the UK were more than twice as likely to die when compared to women living in the least deprived areas.
Attendees at our National Maternity Safety Conference last month heard Clotilde Abe from Five X More , share that the new government has said they are committed to setting targets to tackle these inequalities. We hope to see the impact of this commitment soon.
Baby Lifeline’s Family Voices Group member, Sandra Igwe, an advocate for Black maternal health and the Founder of The Motherhood Group, said in response to today’s report:
“The persistent inequalities revealed in this report are a stark reminder of the work still ahead of us. It’s heartbreaking to see that Black women continue to face almost three times the risk of dying during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth compared to White women. This isn’t just a statistic – it represents real lives, families torn apart, and communities left grieving.
The increase in maternal mortality rates since the last report is a damning indictment of our healthcare system’s inability to protect all mothers equally. And we can’t simply blame this on Covid-19 – the data shows the problem runs deeper.”
What can you do?
We asked one of our experts, Anita Banerjee, to share her key takeaways for women and health professionals following the report. Anita is an Obstetric Physician, a medical specialist who focuses on the care of pregnant women and their babies, particularly when medical complications arise.
Dr Banerjee’s key messages for women and birthing people:
- Request pre-pregnancy counselling and a management plan if you have a medical condition, particularly if you need a switch in medication or new medication once pregnant.
Dr Banerjee’s key message for health professionals:
- Listen to women
- Be curious to your approach to symptomology
- Make a diagnosis
Baby Lifeline Family Voices Group member, Gaynor Savarnejad, also added:
“One of the most important tools in our armoury against maternal deaths is educating women and giving them a safe space to be heard. If women don’t know the risks exist, they are powerless to act. Please raise awareness of this with women and help prevent this rising devastation.”
What we’re doing
Baby Lifeline’s research shows that there are huge gaps in training in areas relating to the leading causes of death for mothers. For example, training in how to manage blood clots – the leading cause of death in this year’s MBRRACE-UK report – was offered by fewer than 40% of maternity services to their staff. Stroke was offered in 1 in 10 services, and heart disease was offered by fewer than a third of maternity services.
Baby Lifeline has developed training which covers these topics and also effective maternal assessment, as well as training to improve cultural competence amongst maternity heath professionals. This training is available to health professionals across the UK, and you can find out more here.
Judy Ledger, Chief Executive and Founder of Baby Lifeline said:
“Today’s MBRRACE-UK report is distressing, and we hope it will be a wake-up call to decision-makers that more needs to be done to improve care for mothers before, during, and after pregnancy.”
Read the full report and its important recommendations here:
https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports/maternal-reports/maternal-report-2020-2022