New MBRRACE-UK Report: What is it and what can we do?
Please read with care - the following blog discusses maternal mortality and inequality in maternity care with regards to race, age and socio-economic factors.
Last week, MBRRACE-UK published a new report (Saving Lives, Improving Mother’s Care), focusing on maternal deaths (that happened during or up to one year after pregnancy) between 2018-20.
It is a harrowing, but critical read.
Click here to read the Lay Summary.
Key Findings
Key Messages for women, partners, and families - from the report
• Pregnancy can affect your health in the nine months you are pregnant, and beyond.
• Think about your health before and after, as well as during your pregnancy.
• If you have a pre-existing health condition, try to get specialist advice before you get pregnant. Don’t stop existing medication without expert advice.
• Stay connected with your usual care teams, and keep your GP and midwife informed.
For more information, resources & support, visit Five X More.
Key messages for healthcare professionals - from the report
• New expressions or acts of violent self-harm are ‘red flag’ symptoms. Take them seriously.
• Be aware of sleep disturbance and stigma.
• Recognise the complexity and multiple challenges facing each woman you care for, including any history of trauma.
• Pre-birth and post-birth care is vital.
• Don’t allow women to fall through the gaps.
• Be the person to hear and act.
Sign up to our free workshop for Healthcare Professionals, Closing the Gap.
Five X More
Five X More is a grassroots organisation committed to changing Black women and birthing people’s maternal health outcomes in the UK. It was established in 2019 when two Black mothers (Tinuke Awe & Clotilde Abe) came together with the dream of improving maternal mortality rates and health care outcomes for Black women.
Five X More is dedicated to supporting women and birthing people with its campaigning work and recommendations. It focuses on empowering Black women and birthing people to make informed choices and advocate for themselves throughout their pregnancies and after childbirth.
Five X More started a petition to improve maternal mortality rates and health care for black women in the UK and gained 187,520 signatures which led to the topic being debated in parliament on the 19th of April 2021.
In September 2021, the All-Party Parliamentary Group [APPG] for Black Maternal Health was founded with Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP (Labour). There is now a public event held quarterly at Westminster. Click here to follow the Black Maternal Health APPG.
“It is exhausting and frustrating to read that disparities still exist for Black women and this is exactly why Five X More’s work is crucial.
You can take action by writing to your local MP, taking your Five X More Selfie or donating towards our campaign efforts, so we can continue to work towards closing the gap. ”
Find out more about Five X More, and how to do any of the above here.
To watch Tinuke & Clotilde discussing navigating pregnancy as a Black women, click here.
Founders of Five x More, Tinuke & Clo (Image credit: Five X More)
The Positive Birth Company’s commitment:
The Positive Birth Company recognises that it is our responsibility to better understand the inequalities and challenges faced by women and birthing people, so that we can better support them and work to help improve the current situation within maternity care.
We hope to do this in the following ways:
To highlight and amplify organisations and individuals working to tackle inequalities in maternity care and wider society and to support their work. We recognise we’re not experts in the field of anti-racism work, which is why we are guided by those professionals already working in this area, along with those who have lived experience of systemic oppression.
To listen to our PBC community who talk about the challenges they have experienced, through birth stories and more, and ensure we have the correct support in place internally or through signposting to the appropriate organisations.
To ensure those groups classed as ‘high risk’ in the MBRRACE report groups are prioritised and considered in the development of any new PBC products.
To further our work to highlight and raise awareness around mental health in the perinatal period.
To continue and deepen our commitment to anti-racism work by fulfilling our current commitments, and proactively seeking new opportunities for learning and support of those leading the way to reduce systemic inequalities in maternal health outcomes for women and birthing people.
We are committed to empowering women, birthing people and birth partners around the world to create positive experiences from conception through to birth and the postpartum period. We recognise that helping to tackle inequalities in maternity care, and wider society - as a company and as individuals - is crucial to this and are hugely grateful to those who join us on the journey.
Want to find out more?
Here’s our non exhaustive list for where to start...
Instagram:
Websites:
Reading:
The Good Ally - Nova Reid
I Am Not Your Baby Mother - Candice Brathwaite
Me and White Supremacy - Layla F. Saad
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race - Reni Eddo-Lodge
How to be an Anti Racist - Ibram X. Kendi
So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo
