Kemi Badenoch addresses pre-eclampsia experts - black mothers x5 likely to die **title edited by MNHQ**

[OhHolyJesus]

Full release here

www.gov.uk/government/news/minister-for-equalities-speaks-to-pre-eclampsia-experts-at-global-event

"But evidence shows that black British mothers are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or six weeks after childbirth, than white women. Women of mixed ethnicity have three times the risk, and Asian women almost twice the risk. Ethnic minority women are also at an increased risk of having a pre-term birth, stillbirth, neonatal death or a baby born with low birth weight."

I'm a bit of a fan of Kemi's since her speech on critical race theory in the HoP and this just makes me love her more. I don't care that she's a Tory, she knows what a woman is and is doing something.

[334bu]

Thanks for link. Very important issue.

[ThinEndOfTheWedge]

Agreed - a really important issue and she is actually doing something to help instead of the usual pontificating bullshit.

[Imnobody4]

Echo other posts. Huge respect for Kemi, she's hugely intelligent and pragmatic.

[HecatesCats]

This is what representation looks like in practice. I really hope she can affect change.

[HecatesCats]

Effect

[OhHolyJesus]

Apologies for my spelling coco up on the title, I have asked MNHQ to amend.


Huge respect for Kemi, she's hugely intelligent and pragmatic.

This. She would make an amazing PM I think and I'm sad she doesn't want to go for the job.

Maybe she will change her mind...

[SunsetBeetch]

She has of course been accused of transphobia for not being inclusive,but she doesn't pay that shot any mind. Huge respect for Kemi, may she go from strength to strength

[ErrolTheDragon]

Bloody hell, those statistics...
But good to see a serious matter being discussed (and hopefully addressed) seriously.

[CarolineMumsnet]

Just to let you know that we've made that edit to the title for you now, OhHolyJesus

[334bu]

In the article Kemi speaks about underlying health problems impacting adversely the pregnancies of black and other ethnic groups women, so are these groups being denied access to care available to white women with similar problems or are there other reasons that they are unable to access this care?

[TyroTerf]

I'd hazard a guess that there's a psychological aspect to it, 334bu.

Along the same lines as women having better outcomes when seen by female doctors.

The more like ourselves someone is, the better we're inclined and able to empathise, because in some subconscious sense the in-group is more 'real' than the outgroup. Which results in white doctors being a bit more on the ball with white patients.

This is just a hunch, of course, but could be checked by comparing with stats for countries that aren't in North-west Europe.

[perfectstorm]

Those statistics are horrendous. Every single one of those deaths is a tragedy for a family, and given the gulf in stats (against a backdrop where our maternal and neo-natal mortality rates aren't great for white women, either!) most must be avoidable.

Good for her for raising the issue, and seeking to do something about it. And I wonder if this could be an issue @MNHQ could do something with, in campaigning terms, too?

[LukewarmCustard]

It’s great to see Kemi is onto this. The higher maternal death rate for Black women in the UK is a disgrace.

But she’s talking about dealing with pre-existing health conditions as though this will fix it. I would be a lot happier if she talked about poverty, which is a major factor, and much more prevalent amongst BAME mothers. Or about the hostile environment policies which leave some migrant women with no access to housing and benefits and being charged thousands of pounds for maternity care.

[OhHolyJesus]

I have to say that this is an important point for the Women and Equalities Committee inquiry into the GRA, for the point/question on what trans people should have access to.

Women, particularly black pregnant women, do they have access to medical care that suits their needs? Based on these stats I would suggest not.

The WEC deal with Equalities, meaning for all minority groups, I think I will note this in my response and I will now approach my submission in a different way. I'll apply the questions to other groups, is the process for disability benefit 'kind'? Do women who are victims of domestic violence have access to social services?

It's not just for the goose.

[OhHolyJesus]

I just derailed my own thread!

I'm going to follow what Kemi does on this and maybe send her a letter. She is a bloody good MP too, I wish she was mine!

[SunsetBeetch]

@perfectstorm

Those statistics are horrendous. Every single one of those deaths is a tragedy for a family, and given the gulf in stats (against a backdrop where our maternal and neo-natal mortality rates aren't great for white women, either!) most must be avoidable.

Good for her for raising the issue, and seeking to do something about it. And I wonder if this could be an issue *@MNHQ* could do something with, in campaigning terms, too?

Oh that would be great. This has really shocked and upset me.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Good for her for raising the issue, and seeking to do something about it. And I wonder if this could be an issue @MNHQ could do something with, in campaigning terms, too?

Sounds like it should be on their list. I'm not sure @MNHQ alerts anyone, I'll report this post and ask.

[334bu]

Excellent idea Errol

[ErrolTheDragon]

So, here's the reply.

^ Thanks so much for your email and for your idea for a Mumsnet campaign.

We will pass your message on to our Campaigns team and they'll be in touch if they feel they can be of any help. We should make you aware, however, that they plan all our campaigns at least six months in advance, so it may well be that they aren't able to help on this one and you won't receive a reply.

In the meantime, you might be interested to know that we decide which campaigns we run with on the basis of what our members think, so you might like to start a thread on our Petitions Noticeboardd_ and see whether other Mumsnetters respond positively to the idea (please remember that we don't allow petitions to be posted anywhere else on our site).

You can find out more about Mumsnet's campaigning history and our current campaigns heree_.
^

I feel I was passing the message on and there is probably someone else here who might be better suited to pick up this ball and run with it. Perhaps someone with specific experience, either an HCP or someone who has experienced the issues discussed in pregnancy. Or a collaborative effort. Any takers?

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

It’s such an important issue, it would be a wonderful thing for MN to campaign on.

[Al1langdownthecleghole]

While I’m pleased to read this, I’m reserving some judgement. KB is my MP & When I wrote to her around 18 months ago, I got a very disappointing C&P response misrepresenting the EA and advising me that she was committed to representing the rights of people of all genders.

On the other hand she is very ambitious, so if she has realised that it is now politically expedient to recognise female biology, I’ll take that as a good sign.

[RoyalCorgi]

I think it's worth bearing in mind that the numbers of women dying in pregnancy and in the six weeks after childbirth are relatively small, mercifully, and that you need someone to analyse the data properly to find out why black women are more likely to die. You need to take into account things like the number of refugee women coming here who may not have had any care during pregnancy, the fact that some ethnic groups are typically older having their first child, and that some ethnic groups have a greater predisposition to heart problems, which then emerge during pregnancy. All of these things should be addressed, of course, but we need to think about how we address them.

I'd also want to look at stats on maternal morbidity (ie sickness, not just mortality) and stillbirths and address those.

[Goosefoot]

Last time i read up on this it seemed to be that there were multiple factors involved. Some had to do with class, some had to do with new immigrants and language, and at least for black women, some had to do with physiological issues.

[endofthelinefinally]

@RoyalCorgi

I think it's worth bearing in mind that the numbers of women dying in pregnancy and in the six weeks after childbirth are relatively small, mercifully, and that you need someone to analyse the data properly to find out why black women are more likely to die. You need to take into account things like the number of refugee women coming here who may not have had any care during pregnancy, the fact that some ethnic groups are typically older having their first child, and that some ethnic groups have a greater predisposition to heart problems, which then emerge during pregnancy. All of these things should be addressed, of course, but we need to think about how we address them.

I'd also want to look at stats on maternal morbidity (ie sickness, not just mortality) and stillbirths and address those.

This is really, really important to understand.
The biggest issue in all of this is lack of funding to do the research. It is incredibly difficult to get even small amounts of money to do basic audits.
I was working in USA back in the 80s. It was well known there that African Americans were at higher risk of hypertension than white Americans. I was a very junior person then and didn't know much about research so didn't know if any work was being done in this area.
Eclampsia and post natal PE are more common in black women and less common in Chinese/South East Asian women. This has been known for at least 15 years.
Unfortunately women's health is not, and never has been, a priority. This is what needs to change and I can't see that happening any time soon.

[334bu]

In the USA with their private health care system it is perhaps unsurprising that black women suffer disproportionately. However, we have a national health service where noone is denied healthcare , so why is it happening here too. Yes , certain groups have particular health problems but if it is known that certain groups are more at risk, why are they not automatically treated as high risk pregnancies?