The latest annual report from MBRRACE-UK shows that Britain’s mortality rate between 2020 and 2022 remains higher than between 2017 and 2019.
The latest annual report from MBRRACE-UK, a national collaborative programme of work involving the surveillance and investigation of maternal deaths, found that 625 women died during or up to one year after the end of pregnancy between 2020 and 2022, including 38 recent migrant women.
“The maternal mortality rate for this period is significantly higher than that reported for 2017-19 and this remains significantly higher when deaths due to COVID-19 are excluded,” the report says.
Thrombosis and thromboembolism were the leading causes of maternal death during or up to six weeks after the end of pregnancy. The leading causes of late maternal deaths were mental-health related (34%) with deaths due to suicide or other psychiatric causes occurring in equal proportions.
“There simply aren’t enough staff to provide the safe, personalised and compassionate care that every woman deserves. The tragic impact for women will continue until the government invests in improved staffing levels and training time, including for perinatal mental health services,” said Ranee Thakar, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, responding to the report.
Inequalities in care
There are distinct differences in the quality of care received. Inequalities in maternal mortality rates remain with a nearly three-fold difference in rates amongst women from Black ethnic backgrounds and an almost two-fold difference amongst women from Asian ethnic backgrounds compared to White women.
Nine percent of the women who died during or up to six weeks after pregnancy in the UK in 2020-22 had difficulties such as a mental health diagnosis, substance use and domestic abuse.
Women living in the most deprived areas continue to have maternal mortality rates twice that of women living in the least deprived areas.
“We… strongly urge the UK government to develop strong, cross-government targets to end inequalities in maternity outcomes, supported by ring-fenced funding and wider investment in public health and NHS services,” added Thakar explaining that this should be co-produced with ethnic minority women and backed by evidence on expected impact.
“Improving maternity care safety is an absolute priority for the College, through our work as educators, in our quality improvement programmes and our clinical guidance,” she concluded.
