Our two aims relating to equity and equality for maternity and neonatal care are to improve:
- Equity for mothers and babies from Black, Asian and Mixed ethnic groups and those living in the most deprived areas
- Race equality for staff
Equity means that all mothers and babies will achieve health outcomes that are as good as the groups with the best health outcomes. For this, maternity and neonatal services need to respond to each person’s unique health and social situation – with increasing support as health inequalities increase – so that care is safe and personal for all. This will help us ensure that England is the safest place to be pregnant, give birth and start parenthood.
Maternity and neonatal services contribute to the health, wellbeing and socioeconomic development of the nation. Good health in pregnancy significantly influences a baby’s development in the womb which, in turn, influences long-term health and educational outcomes. By giving every child the best start in life, we will help them fulfil their health, wellbeing and socioeconomic potential.
The government’s national maternity safety strategy sets out an ambition, by 2025, to halve rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries during or soon after birth and to reduce the rate of preterm births from 8% to 6%. To achieve the ‘halve it’ ambition, it is important to improve outcomes for those groups most at risk.
However, the MBRRACE-UK reports about maternal and perinatal mortality show disparities in outcomes for women from Black, Asian and Mixed ethnic groups and their babies and women living in the most deprived areas and their babies.
Our Perinatal Equity in Maternity and Neonatal Services learning and sharing webinar gives examples of best practice from a range of partners aiming to address these key issues. You can watch it below:
