Major inequalities in maternity care for Black, Asian and minority ethnic women

Southwark Council has unveiled a plan to improve maternity care for Black, Asian and minority ethnic women. It came after a nine-month investigation that highlighted inequalities in maternity care and experience.

The report, which came out today, shed light on concerns regarding the quality of care, communication, and cultural sensitivity across local maternity services.

The report urged that change was needed from all partners across the government, the NHS, mental health services, and the voluntary sector. A need to address wider support systems, such as housing, employment, and mental healthcare, are also included in the report.

Local NHS trusts partnered up with the Southwark Maternity Commission to make recommendations of tackling the racial inequalities during childbirth and pregnancy.

The Southwark Maternity Commission, co-chaired by Councillor Evelyn Akoto, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing and Professor Dame Donna Kinnair, heard from more than 750 local women and families.

They were urging for leadership in addressing racism that led to unequal maternal health, Standardising Maternal Health Data and to improve working conditions in hospitals.

The Birth trauma report - led by Conservative MP Theo Clarke and Labour MP Rosie Duffield earlier this year - called for a national plan to improve maternity care, as it claimed women were often "treated as an inconvenience" with poor care.

A small emphasis of the report focused on Black and Asian women, who believed there were disparities in mastery care for ethnic minorities. Previous studies revealed that Black women were four times more likely to die in pregnancy and giving birth.

Councillor Evelyn Akoto, who herself experienced a disturbing childbirth, said: “Fifteen years ago, I went through a traumatic childbirth that highlighted just how important supportive and consistent maternity care is to a healthy birthing experience.

“The UK is known for being one of the safest places to give birth, yet the sad reality revealed in today’s report is that Black and Brown women continue to experience far worse outcomes than their White counterparts,” she continued. "We cannot accept this as the new normal. All women deserve to be treated with care and their needs listened to. Our five year plan is a clear call to action, demanding we work together to tackle these inequalities.

"We cannot do this alone, we need support from all corners of government, our NHS partners, and community led groups, to move the needle in a real way,” she said.

She told the Mirror: “[The Birth Trauma report] just reinforces what we're doing, because we're hearing the same thing that Black and Brown women feel not listened to, and their trauma not really being taken seriously.

“We were hearing all of that. So for me, it was just a reinforcement of all the things that we were doing, and it just kind of pushed me to kind of make sure we finished,” she explained.

The report also focused on Black and Asian fathers who also experience trauma. Cllr Akoto said: “I was actually overwhelmed with the amount of Black fathers who approached me on this.

"Men actively sought me out to speak to me about the fact that they are not being listened to. One father spoke about feeling anxiety and going for depression and even suicidal thoughts, but no one asked him how he was feeling.

“Southwark is one of the most diverse councils in the country as 40% of our residents are born outside of the UK so this will impact our residents here.

On whether Cllr Akoto had hope in the new Labour government to fix the problem, she said: “I have more hope because I think even before Labour came into power, they were doing a lot of work in the kind of maternal, maternal inequalities piece and women's health, and so I know that they have a real desire to kind of make strives and make changes in this area.”

Jacqui Kempen, Head of Maternity, NHS South East London, said: “We recognise that we still have considerable progress to make, but all of us in maternity and neonatal services across south east London are fully committed to working with local people, communities and our partners in health and care to ensure the best experience and outcomes.

“The council is committed to evaluating the impact of these recommendations continually, with a clear focus on reducing maternal mortality, improving care experiences, and ensuring a culturally competent healthcare system.”