Systemic racism affects maternity care for black women in England, say MPs

Commons committee finds women’s concerns not taken seriously due to bias, stereotyping and racist assumptions

Paulette Hamilton is acting chair of the health and social care committee. Photograph: House of Commons/PA

Black women in England are still facing poorer outcomes in their maternity care due to systemic racism, alongside failures in leadership and data collection, according to a group of MPs.

Across the UK, black women are more than twice as likely to die in childbirth compared with their white counterparts, while babies born to black mothers are at an increased risk of stillbirth.

A report by the health and social care committee found that these disproportionately poor outcomes in maternity care for black women were due to a combination of factors including systemic failures in accountability and leadership, with black women’s concerns “not taken seriously” due to bias, stereotyping and racist assumptions.

“Safe maternal care for Black women depends on a workforce that listens to, understands and respects their needs,” according to Paulette Hamilton, Labour’s MP for Birmingham Erdington and acting chair of the committee. “Leadership must be effective but it must also be accountable. This report proves that this is not, currently, the case.”

Read more on the original article : https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/sep/17/systemic-racism-affects-maternity-care-for-black-women-in-england-say-mps