Find out what the latest report on maternity care reveals about the safety of childbirth for women in the UK.
The latest report on maternity care, known as the MBRRACE report, has finally been released now the results of the general election have been announced.
The report, whose full name is ‘Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK’ was published by the independent National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU) at the University of Oxford.
It looks at the care of women who died during pregnancy or up to a year after pregnancy. Part of its aim is to help prevent more deaths occurring in the future.
The co-author of the report, Marian Knight, was a guest speaker at our recent AGM (pictured). During her speech, she urged women to speak up and ask questions about their healthcare.
This report identifies the fragmentation of services as the cause of many maternal deaths. We wholeheartedly agree with the key message that ‘Joined up care across services and systems is essential’, particularly in the postnatal period.
Risk of maternal death is much greater for black and Asian women and women of mixed ethnicity.
Maternal suicide remains the leading cause of death postnatally, which confirms the need for relationship-based care and careful monitoring of mothers’ mental wellbeing.
Our Hidden Half campaign calls for better six week postnatal check-ups so that all new mothers with a mental health problem can access treatment.
As in previous years, the risk of maternal death is found to be much greater for black and Asian women and women of mixed ethnicity. We believe this is completely unacceptable and must be urgently addressed.
Read a summary of the report, which looks at at the changes needed to improve mum’s healthcare, here.
Take a look at the Birthrights website.
