A review published today by the Government recognises that too many women, babies and families are being let down by the NHS and identifies maternity services as an area of concern that must be addressed.
The overall message of the review is that the NHS must reform, with the Government due to publish a new 10-year plan for the NHS in spring 2025.
As the Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit have consistently highlighted, there are few parts of the NHS where transformative change is more needed than in maternity and neonatal services.
"While the review points to a long-term decline in rates stillbirth and neonatal death, we know that in recent years progress has slowed and is not on track to meet the government’s ambitions to achieve a 50% decrease in these rates by 2025. Nor are we on track to meet ambitions to reduce rates for preterm birth.
We’ve been calling on the new government to renew these ambitions, and widen them to include a clear commitment to eliminating inequalities in pregnancy and baby loss.
Furthermore, a key issue that the Darzi review identifies is that the recommendations of past investigations into maternity services have not been universally adopted. The Joint Policy Unit has undertaken a review of previous reports to identify key recurring themes, and we are working to develop consensus on the changes needed to make progress."
-Rob Wilson, Head of the Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit
Review highlights huge inequalities that exist in maternity care
In particular, the review highlights the need to address stark inequalities in maternal and perinatal outcomes – pointing to higher rates of maternal mortality among Black women, and higher rates of baby death among those living in the most deprived parts of the country.
Sands are campaigning so that everyone gets the compassionate and personalised care they need. By doing this, we can make the UK one of the safest places in the world to have a baby.
In the UK, there are persistent inequalities in baby loss by ethnicity. These are particularly striking when you compare rates of baby loss for Black and Asian families with those of white families.
In 2022, the MBRRACE-UK perinatal mortality surveillance report showed that Black babies were over twice as likely to be stillborn compared with white babies – and Asian babies were almost 50% more likely to be stillborn. Black and Asian babies are also over 50% more likely to die shortly after birth compared with white babies.
As the government moves forward to develop a new 10-year plan for the NHS, it must ensure a strong focus on saving more babies lives and tackling inequalities in pregnancy and baby loss.
Sands is here to support anyone affected by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby, however recently or longer ago, for as long as they need this.