A landmark report by the Health and Social Care Committee has issued a stark warning that Black women in England are still being “ignored” by a maternity system plagued by systemic racism and critical staff shortages. The inquiry, which concluded late in 2025, found that Black women remain 2.3 times more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth, or the postnatal period than White women. MPs described these persistent racial disparities as “indefensible” and called for a fundamental shift in how the NHS handles maternal health.
The report identifies systemic racism as a core driver of these poor outcomes. Witnesses described a culture where the concerns of Black women are frequently dismissed or downplayed due to “racist assumptions” and “unconscious bias.” This often manifests in delayed clinical responses or a lack of appropriate pain relief. For instance, some women reported being told they were not in labour despite being in active distress, leading to unassisted or traumatic births. These failings are occurring within a broader maternity system that is struggling under the weight of a 2,500-midwife shortage, leaving many wards operating at unsafe staffing levels.
Financial figures released alongside the report highlight the immense cost of this systemic failure. Since 2019, the NHS has paid out £27.4 billion in maternity negligence claims—a sum that actually exceeds the total budget allocated to maternity services over that same period. MPs argued that this “astounding” level of spending on litigation, rather than prevention and safe care, proves that the current model is broken and unsustainable.
To address these crises, the Committee has proposed a series of urgent interventions. They have called for mandatory cultural competency training for all maternity staff to ensure that every patient is heard and respected regardless of their background. Furthermore, the report demands the restoration of ring-fenced funding for maternity services, which was recently cut from £95 million to just £2 million. MPs also urged the government to speed up the development of a “maternal morbidity indicator” to provide clearer data on the complications Black women face before they reach the point of a life-threatening crisis.
The government’s initial response has been mixed. While ministers have accepted the need for better data and are proceeding with a national investigation into maternity safety, they have rejected the call for mandatory training and the restoration of ring-fenced funding. Acting Committee Chair Paulette Hamilton MP expressed deep concern over this hesitation, stating that “leadership must be accountable” if the system is ever to achieve true equity. As the investigation moves forward, the message from the Committee remains clear: without addressing structural racism and the workforce crisis, the most vulnerable mothers will continue to pay the highest price.
Source: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/81/health-and-social-care-committee/news/209309/black-women-still-ignored-in-maternity-care-say-mps/