Reflecting on the recent reports by Sands - baby loss charity, Tommy's, and The Royal College of Midwives (RCM), it’s clear that the state of maternity and neonatal care in the UK hasn’t significantly shifted in the positive direction and still demands improvement.
- We cannot ignore that 13 babies die daily in the UK due to pregnancy and neonatal complications. The fact that Black babies are over twice as likely to be stillborn compared to white babies and that babies in deprived areas face double the risk is unacceptable. These figures underscore the deep-rooted ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in our healthcare system.
- The reports reveal nearly half of maternity services in England are rated as “inadequate” or “requires improvement” by the CQC. Reproductive health receives a mere 2% of public and charity health-related research funding. This severe underinvestment highlights a systemic disregard for maternal and neonatal health, with stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates stagnating, far from the 2025 targets.
- Addressing these issues requires more than just incremental changes. We need a bold, national strategy that extends beyond 2025. This strategy must:
- Renew Commitment: Expand national maternity safety goals to tackle inequalities.
- Increase Funding: Secure sustained financial support for transformative improvements.
- Enhance Staffing: Develop robust retention strategies and improve staffing levels across all maternity and neonatal services.
Last month, The Royal College of Midwives launched a short guidebook on assessing social complexities during maternity care, known as the Maternity Disadvantage Assessment Tool (MatDAT), which will support midwives in their delivery of care.
Read the full Saving Babies’ Lives 2024 Report https://bit.ly/45AUomp
Read about the Maternity Disadvantage Assessment Tool here.
In the spirit of one of our favourite poems, Tatamkhulu Afrika’s ‘Nothing’s Changed’, we reflect on the unchanged state of maternity and neonatal care in the UK. This urgent need requires the continued account of patients’ experiences, community around maternal health innovation and Systems Change.
