Black Maternal Health

Health and Social Care Committee Open Non-inquiry session
Opened: 6 May 2025 Parliament page
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 … Read more
9 Recommendations
11 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
1 Letter
2 Events
Activity timeline 7 events
16 Dec
2025
Report published
17 Sep
2025
Report published
14 Jul
2025
Correspondence
18 Jun
2025
Oral evidence
18 Jun
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
14 May
2025
Oral evidence
14 May
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
18 Jun 2025
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Oral Evidence
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)
14 May 2025
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Oral Evidence
Professor Marian Knight · National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit Shanthi Gunesekera · Birthrights UK Sonah Paton · Black Mothers Matter Tinuke Awe · Five x More
Title HC No. Published Items Response
3rd Report - Black Maternal Health HC 895 17 Sep 2025 20 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
1 result
Clear
13 Recommendation Accepted in Part
3rd Report - Black Maternal Health
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 … Read more
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 levels, rather than explicitly updating and publishing the original RCOG tool.
Department of Health and Social Care
View details
Government Response AI assessment · 20 of 9 classified
Accepted 8
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 4
Deferred 4
Rejected 3
Total 9 recs + 11 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
14 Jul 2025 Correspondence from Baroness Merron re Black Maternal Health
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