Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Accept all cookies Reject all non-essential cookies Find out more

More action needed to prevent maternal deaths across the UK

Research

There has been an increase in the number of women dying during pregnancy or in the six weeks after the end of pregnancy in the UK, according to a new report produced by researchers from the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford.

Picture of a female doctor and a female patient

The report, Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care, shows that 225 women died from direct and indirect causes during 2014-20161 (9.8 women for every 100,000 women giving birth). This compares to 202 in 2013-15 (8.8 per 100,000).

The analysis, produced for the latest MBRRACE-UK (Mothers and Babies – Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK) Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths and Morbidity2, also shows major differences amongst ethnic groups – black women are five times more likely and Asian women two times more likely to die than white women.

Find out more (University of Oxford website)

Similar stories