Hospitals trust one of just six to have 'red' stillbirth and infant mortality rates

The damning report by Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audit and Confidential Enquiries (MBRRACE) found more women and babies were dying after childbirth across the country than in previous years.

Almost a fifth of NHS trusts were rated 'red' for infant mortality rates meaning the death rate was more than five per cent above average.

The figures used in the reported were from 2020. In 2018 and 2019 no trusts were rated red for both stillbirths and neonatal mortality, whereas there were six in 2020.

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust responded to the report claiming improvements had been made since 2020.

The trust's director of midwifery, Helen Hurst, said: "We would like to offer our deepest sympathies to any parent who has experienced the tragedy of a stillbirth or loss of a new baby.

"Extensive work is being done by our equality, diversity and inclusion team to raise awareness around the importance of early access to maternity care.

"This work has seen a notable reduction in neonatal deaths over the last year and continues to put the care and safety of our mums and their babies at the forefront of everything we do."

The MBRRACE report found that women who were poor and from ethnic minorities were more likely to die during childbirth or after.

It said: "This year’s report highlights the significant impact on women’s health of the increasing inequalities in the United Kingdom, in terms of deprivation and disadvantage.

"These maternal deaths are the tip of the iceberg, and cannot be dismissed as a minority issue.

"Although this report is the first to include figures for Covid-19 deaths, these must not obscure the wider trends. This report details increases in the overall maternal death rate in the UK between 2015-17 and 2018-2020, even when the nine deaths from Covid19 in this period are excluded.

"The Government’s ambition is to reduce maternal mortality in England by 50 per cent between 2010 -2025, yet maternal mortality has increased by eight per cent since 2010-12. These figures contrast starkly with the perinatal picture, where the number of baby deaths has reduced steadily over a similar period.

"This report calls urgently for a continued focus on the broader physical and mental health of the mother, and a greater focus on understanding and addressing the social determinants of health."

The report revealed the reasons why 229 women who died in pregnancy or up to six weeks after the end of their pregnancy.

The country's mental health crisis was reflected in the report as in 2020, women were three times more likely to die by suicide during or up to six weeks after the end of pregnancy compared to 2017-19.

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust maternity unit is based at City Hospital. The trust launched an investigation in 2019 after five pregnant women died in 18 months.

To read the MBRRACE report visit https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports.