Racism in maternity services

[PermanentTemporary]

Not news is it. But horrifying to read all the same.
app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/69795/content.html

How the hell are women of colour and from minorities like Roma supposed to feel safe to give birth, when they are so much less safe than white and majority culture women? Baking in worse outcomes for women and babies before they even arrive at the unit.

If (God forbid) I were managing a maternity service, I'd... I don't know what. Tag every admission of a woman of colour as of increased vulnerability requiring closer monitoring? Identify staff who manage to provide good care to all and buddy them up with the ones with suspect outcomes and complaints of racism against them?

It's a huge problem and is taken very seriously by the many midwives I know. But given the state of the maternity workforce, it is going to take time and money to turn this around.

A telling comment in the article that what has caused the current higher attention to maternity services is that the race gap has reduced - now that white women and babies are dying at a rate closer to women of colour, people are paying attention.

Hmm, I don't think that's right, I think it's come to public attention because of brilliant advocacy work by black women. It has always been 'known' by those with an interest because the data is out there - maternal deaths, for example, are reported centrally and you can read about why mothers die in the MBRRACE reports.

Part of the issue is that it's not all about direct racism, it's also that Black and Asian women are over represented in the populations that get poorer outcomes - poverty, poor housing, immigration status.

I recognise that this can often be a cover, the 'broken bodies' argument etc. But equally, it's true - and to ignore it and pretend the problem is just racist midwives is just letting the government and others off for their responsibility. Indirect racism kills just as surely as direct racism, and the NHS can't fix all the problems of wider society.

We do absolutely have to tackle racism within maternity care, AND we also have to repair our maternity services which are on their knees. But that will cost serious money. I don't know how many mothers and babies we have to lose for that message to get through.

Let's think a bit harder about one of your options- "closer monitoring". What would that look like? More maternal and fetal observations? I'm curious.

Its a big problem. I also think it's "class", for want of a better word, that has an impact as much as race. Educated women with good English are often the squeaky wheels in the system, advocating for themselves and not putting up with rubbish care.

Thanks for sharing. It is awful and makes me think of my birth.