‘Maternal deaths linked to issues in pregnancy show just how desperately maternity services need more specialist midwives’ that’s the message from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) as it responds to analysis by the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London who reviewed data released between 2022 and 2024 from the National Patient Safety report.

The RCM says its ‘alarming’ to see the rates of women dying during or shortly after pregnancy, and babies dying within 28 days of being born, have increased for the first time in a decade.

Given the increase in more complex pregnancies and the impact social complexities can have on women during pregnancy ensuring services have the right, staff in the right place at the right time with the right education and training has never been more crucial says the RCM. Also, mental ill-health ranks with physical factors as one of the leading causes of maternal deaths in the UK, and yet this is not reflected in the resources allocated to it according to the RCM.

Commenting, RCM’s Executive Director for Midwifery, Birte Harlev-Lam said:

“We cannot simply wring our hands and shake our heads at the tragedy of lives lost. We must act now and improve the maternity outcomes for all women and their babies. The Government has acknowledged there are widespread issues across our maternity services that are hampering the delivery of safe care, but they need to act now. Over the past decade we have read multiple reports of incidents in maternity services. There are recurring themes in these reports, too few staff with the right training, too little time to care for and listen to women, and crumbling infrastructure that gets in the way of good care. Despite these recurrent themes, nothing has fundamentally changed. Our members tell us all the time that they struggle to deliver the best care they know they can because there often are too few staff, or that don’t have a specialist midwife say for example a perinatal mental health midwife who can offer lifesaving intervention and support to ensure a woman’s condition doesn’t escalate.”

The RCM says it should also not be the case that in twenty-first century Britain that a mother or their babies’ chance of survival is determined by the colour of their skin or where they were born. But sadly, as this analysis shows, Black and Asian women are disproportionally impacted.

Earlier this year the RCM launched a Maternity Disadvantage Assessment tool. MatDAT was developed in response to a growing number of pregnant women experiencing more social complexities during pregnancy and to ensure they receive not only the right midwifery care, but also the right support from other agencies. The RCM says there is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the impact of disadvantage, such as poverty and poor housing on pregnancy and birth outcomes, which means a multi-agency approach is needed more than ever.

Birte added:

 “While pregnancy and the perinatal period can be a happy and joyful time for some, for many women it can be an incredibly tough time. During the perinatal period women are at their most vulnerable and may require more support than they have ever needed at any other point in their life. RCM members right across the UK have told us they are seeing more and more women with social complexities. This impact that this has on the health and wellbeing of a women during pregnancy cannot be underestimated. The scale of complexity means we must work in partnership with other health and social care professionals and national organisations and MatDAT supports this type of care and will also support midwives to deliver is more woman-centred and responsive to needs.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

• RCM launches tool to tackle high levels of maternity disadvantage – Royal College of Midwives
• Act now to end the postcode lottery of perinatal mental health services says RCM – Royal College of Midwives
• ‘Midwives need the time to care’ says the RCM as it calls for perinatal mental health support
• Perinatal mental health – why it matters and what midwives can do – Royal College of Midwives (rcm.org.uk)

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team.  We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance, and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences, and online resources. For more information visit the RCM | A professional organisation and trade union dedicated to serving the whole midwifery team.