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.

The MBRRACE-UK collaboration, co-led by Oxford Population Health’s National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, has today published the full Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care report on women who died during or up to a year after pregnancy between 2021 and 2023.

A woman with a baby at a hospital after birth

The report presents key recommendations for maternal medicine networks in England, health boards and integrated care boards, NICE, and the NIHR for improving the care of women with complex medical, mental health and social needs.

This report follows the data brief that was published in January 2025 that showed a slight improvement in the UK maternal death rate in 2021–2023. It examines the care received by the women who died in more detail and suggests strategies and interventions to prevent future deaths. 

The data published by the MBRRACE-UK collaboration in January 2025 also showed that persistent disparities in maternal care remained. In 2021–2023, Black women were more than twice as likely to die during or up to six weeks after pregnancy when compared with White women. Asian women and women from mixed ethnic backgrounds also had a slightly, statistically non-significant increased risk of death when compared with White women.* 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.

The data also showed that 91% of the women who died during or up to a year after pregnancy faced multiple or interrelated challenges including multiple and severe disadvantages, physical health problems, and mental health challenges.

 

 

Read the full story on the Nuffield Department of Population Health website.

Similar stories

Nuffield Department of Medicine scientists receive funding for children’s cancer vaccine development

A new partnership between Alice’s Arc, the Centre for Immuno-Oncology in the Nuffield Department of Medicine and the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology will pioneer the development of a bespoke mRNA vaccine to improve treatment outcomes for children with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of soft tissue cancer.