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Select Committee · Health and Social Care Committee

Black Maternal Health

Status: Open Opened: 6 May 2025 9 recommendations 11 conclusions 1 report

Black women in the UK are three times more likely to die in childbirth than White women, highlighting stark ethnic inequalities in maternal health outcomes. A 2022 Women and Equalities Committee inquiry identified systemic barriers, biases, and gaps in care. Several recent policies such as the Maternity Disparities Taskforce and the Women’s Health Strategy have …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
3rd Report - Black Maternal Health HC 895 17 Sep 2025 20 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

1 item
13 Recommendation 3rd Report - Black Maternal Health Accepted in Part

Require the Department to update and publish the RCOG maternity staffing tool.

We urge the Department to update and publish the tool produced by RCOG in time for the rollout of the upcoming refreshed Workforce Plan, so that every maternity unit can use it to plan effectively, ensure appropriate staffing and deliver consistent, safe care to all mothers and their babies. (Recommendation, …

Government response. NHS England is collaborating with the RCOG to produce a set of principles and expectations to guide job planning for obstetric consultants at trust level, aiming to share this work as soon as possible to support planning for optimal staffing …
Department of Health and Social Care

Oral evidence sessions

2 sessions
Date Witnesses
18 Jun 2025 Janet Fyle MBE · Royal College of Midwives, Kate Brintworth · NHS England, Professor Bola Owolabi · NHS England, Professor Hassan Shehata · Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), Professor Lucy Chappell · Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Sylvia Owusu-Nepaul · Birmingham and Solihull United Maternity & Newborn Partnership, The Baroness Merron · Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) View ↗
14 May 2025 Professor Marian Knight · National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Shanthi Gunesekera · Birthrights UK, Sonah Paton · Black Mothers Matter, Tinuke Awe · Five x More View ↗

Correspondence

1 letter
DateDirectionTitle
14 Jul 2025 — Correspondence from Baroness Merron re Black Maternal Health