SYSTEMIC racism in maternity care is putting the safety of black and Asian mothers at risk, according to a report published today, which calls for urgent action to fix the problem.

The report follows a year-long inquiry into “racial injustice” in maternity care by an expert panel chaired by Shaheen Rahman QC, a barrister who specialises in clinical negligence, for the Birthrights charity. 

Existing research shows that black women are four times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth and Asian and mixed-race women twice as likely.

Ms Rahman said: “There is nothing ‘wrong’ with black or brown bodies that can explain away the disparities in maternal mortality rates, outcomes and experiences.”

Women spoke to the panel about feeling unsafe, being denied pain relief, encountering racial stereotyping of their pain tolerance and microaggressions. 

One woman told the panel of her “horrible” birth experience, in which a midwife failed to recognise the symptoms of sepsis, including shivering and pale skin, and minimised her concerns about being in severe pain. 

She said that she believed the loss of colour in her skin was recognised because she was black. 

“I felt like [the nurse] thought I was either strong enough or I was exaggerating,” she said. 

In another case, a woman reported that healthcare professionals failed to recognise that her baby had developed jaundice because he was black. 

Some women and healthcare professionals also shared examples of overt racism, including hearing staff describe black women and babies as having “thick, tough skin” and saying that a ward “smells of curry” when south Asian families are being cared for. 

The report highlights the need for urgent changes, including training for healthcare professionals that highlights diversity and for maternity organisations to commit to being anti-racist. 

Royal College of Midwives chief executive Gill Walton said that the report must serve as a wake-up call to the maternity sector, “which is not making the progress needed to deliver consistent care for all women, regardless of their ethnicity or the colour of their skin.

“It saddens me even more that some of the racism and prejudice they face has come from the very staff there to care for them,” she added.

Ms Walton insisted that the union “is committed to being anti-racist, supporting midwives and maternity support workers of colour and doing what we can to improve the care given to black and Asian pregnant women.”