Jump to content

Search the hub

Showing results for tags 'Pregnancy'.

More search options

  • Search By Tags

    Start to type the tag you want to use, then select from the list.

  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • All
    • Commissioning, service provision and innovation in health and care
    • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
    • Culture
    • Improving patient safety
    • Investigations, risk management and legal issues
    • Leadership for patient safety
    • Organisations linked to patient safety (UK and beyond)
    • Patient engagement
    • Patient safety in health and care
    • Patient Safety Learning
    • Professionalising patient safety
    • Research, data and insight
    • Miscellaneous

Categories

  • Commissioning, service provision and innovation in health and care
    • Commissioning and funding patient safety
    • Digital health and care service provision
    • Health records and plans
    • Innovation programmes in health and care
    • Climate change/sustainability
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
    • Blogs
    • Data, research and statistics
    • Frontline insights during the pandemic
    • Good practice and useful resources
    • Guidance
    • Mental health
    • Exit strategies
    • Patient recovery
    • Questions around Government governance
  • Culture
    • Bullying and fear
    • Good practice
    • Occupational health and safety
    • Safety culture programmes
    • Second victim
    • Speak Up Guardians
    • Staff safety
    • Whistle blowing
  • Improving patient safety
    • Clinical governance and audits
    • Design for safety
    • Disasters averted/near misses
    • Equipment and facilities
    • Error traps
    • Health inequalities
    • Human factors (improving human performance in care delivery)
    • Improving systems of care
    • Implementation of improvements
    • International development and humanitarian
    • Patient Safety Alerts
    • Safety stories
    • Stories from the front line
    • Workforce and resources
  • Investigations, risk management and legal issues
    • Investigations and complaints
    • Risk management and legal issues
  • Leadership for patient safety
    • Business case for patient safety
    • Boards
    • Clinical leadership
    • Exec teams
    • Inquiries
    • International reports
    • National/Governmental
    • Patient Safety Commissioner
    • Quality and safety reports
    • Techniques
    • Other
  • Organisations linked to patient safety (UK and beyond)
    • Government and ALB direction and guidance
    • International patient safety
    • Regulators and their regulations
  • Patient engagement
    • Consent and privacy
    • Harmed care patient pathways/post-incident pathways
    • How to engage for patient safety
    • Keeping patients safe
    • Patient-centred care
    • Patient Safety Partners
    • Patient stories
  • Patient safety in health and care
    • Care settings
    • Conditions
    • Diagnosis
    • High risk areas
    • Learning disabilities
    • Medication
    • Mental health
    • Men's health
    • Patient management
    • Social care
    • Transitions of care
    • Women's health
  • Patient Safety Learning
    • Patient Safety Learning campaigns
    • Patient Safety Learning documents
    • Patient Safety Standards
    • 2-minute Tuesdays
    • Patient Safety Learning Annual Conference 2019
    • Patient Safety Learning Annual Conference 2018
    • Patient Safety Learning Awards 2019
    • Patient Safety Learning Interviews
    • Patient Safety Learning webinars
  • Professionalising patient safety
    • Accreditation for patient safety
    • Competency framework
    • Medical students
    • Patient safety standards
    • Training & education
  • Research, data and insight
    • Data and insight
    • Research
  • Miscellaneous

News

  • News

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start
    End

Last updated

  • Start
    End

Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End

Group

First name

Last name

Country

Join a private group (if appropriate)

About me

Organisation

Role

Found 471 results
  1. Content Article
    Is good-quality health care being provided for women in prison? As the government proceeds with plans to build 500 more prison places for women, this new Nuffield Trust analysis uses HES data to look at women prisoners' use of hospital services, finding that they face a series of challenges and risks in prison because of barriers to accessing health and care services.
  2. Content Article
    In this blog, student midwife Sophie Dorman describes some of the issues that have led to a chronic shortage of midwives, including a culture of fear, poor pay and conditions and a lack of basic facilities for maternity staff. She highlights the impact this is having on the safety of maternity services and argues that valuing and looking after midwives will make pregnancy and childbirth safer and better for everyone.
  3. Content Article
    The government has published the first ever Women's Health Strategy for England to tackle the gender health gap.
  4. News Article
    Women and girls across England will benefit from improved healthcare following the publication of the first ever government-led Women’s Health Strategy for England today. Following a call for evidence which generated almost 100,000 responses from individuals across England, and building on 'Our Vision for Women’s Health', the strategy sets bold ambitions to tackle deep-rooted, systemic issues within the health and care system to improve the health and wellbeing of women, and reset how the health and care system listens to women. The strategy includes key commitments around: New research and data gathering. The expansion of women’s health-focused education and training for incoming doctors. Improvements to fertility services. Ensuring women have access to high-quality health information. Updating guidance for female-specific health conditions like endometriosis to ensure the latest evidence and advice is being used in treatment. To support progress already underway in these areas, the strategy aims to: Provide a new investment of £10 million for a breast screening programme, which will provide 25 new mobile breast screening units to be targeted at areas with the greatest challenges in uptake and coverage. This will: - provide extra capacity for services to recover from the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic - boost uptake of screening in areas where attendance is low - tackle health disparities - contribute towards higher early diagnosis rates in line with the NHS Long Term Plan. Remove additional barriers to IVF for female same-sex couples. There will no longer be a requirement for them to pay for artificial insemination to prove their fertility status and NHS treatment for female same-sex couples will start with 6 cycles of artificial insemination, prior to accessing IVF services, if necessary. Improve transparency on provision and availability of IVF so prospective parents can see how their local area performs to tackle the ‘postcode lottery’ in access to IVF treatment Recognise parents who have lost a child before 24 weeks through the introduction of a pregnancy loss certificate in England. Ensure specialist endometriosis services have the most up-to-date evidence and advice by updating the service specification for severe endometriosis, which defines the standards of care patients can expect. This sits alongside the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) review of its guideline on endometriosis. Read full story Source: Gov.UK, 20 July 2022
  5. News Article
    A sexual assault survivor chooses sterilization so that if she is ever attacked again, she won’t be forced to give birth to a rapist’s baby. An obstetrician delays inducing a miscarriage until a woman with severe pregnancy complications seems “sick enough.” A lupus patient must stop taking medication that controls her illness because it can also cause miscarriages. Abortion restrictions in a number of states and the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade are having profound repercussions in reproductive medicine as well as in other areas of medical care. “For physicians and patients alike, this is a frightening and fraught time, with new, unprecedented concerns about data privacy, access to contraception, and even when to begin lifesaving care,” said Dr. Jack Resneck, president of the American Medical Association. Even in medical emergencies, doctors are sometimes declining immediate treatment. In the past week, an Ohio abortion clinic received calls from two women with ectopic pregnancies — when an embryo grows outside the uterus and can’t be saved — who said their doctors wouldn’t treat them. Ectopic pregnancies often become life-threatening emergencies and abortion clinics aren’t set up to treat them. It’s just one example of “the horrible downstream effects of criminalizing abortion care,″ said Dr. Catherine Romanos, who works at the Dayton clinic. Read full story Source: AP News, 16 July 2022
  6. News Article
    Physicians must continue to offer abortions in cases of medical emergencies without exception, Joe Biden’s administration said on Monday, as it insisted federal law would overrule any total state bans on abortion. In a letter to healthcare providers, the president’s health and human services secretary, Xavier Becerra, said the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) protects providers from any purported state restrictions should they be required to perform emergency abortions. “Under the law, no matter where you live, women have the right to emergency care – including abortion care,” Becerra said. “Today, in no uncertain terms, we are reinforcing that we expect providers to continue offering these services, and that federal law preempts state abortion bans when needed for emergency care.” Becerra said medical emergencies include ectopic pregnancies, complications arising from miscarriages, and pre-eclampsia, NBC News reported. Becerra said in his letter to medical providers: “If a physician believes that a pregnant patient presenting at an emergency department, including certain labor and delivery departments, is experiencing an emergency medical condition as defined by EMTALA, and that abortion is the stabilizing treatment necessary to resolve that condition, the physician must provide that treatment. “And when a state law prohibits abortion and does not include an exception for the life and health of the pregnant person – or draws the exception more narrowly than EMTALA’s emergency medical condition definition – that state law is preempted.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 July 2022
  7. News Article
    The Food and Drug Administration will consider an application for the first birth control pill to be sold without a prescription. The application from HRA Pharma would seek to make Opill – an every day, prescription-only hormonal contraception first approved in 1973 – available over-the-counter. Such an approval from the FDA would allow people to purchase “the pill” without a prescription for the first time since oral contraceptives became widely available in the 1960s. The application will also cast oral contraceptives into a fraught political moment in the US. The US supreme court ended federal protection for abortion rights late last month, throwing into question the future of birth control. “This historic application marks a groundbreaking moment in contraceptive access and reproductive equity in the US,” said HRA Pharma’s chief strategic operations and innovation officer, Frédérique Welgryn. “More than 60 years ago, prescription birth control pills in the US empowered women to plan if and when they want to get pregnant.” Making birth control available without a prescription will “help even more women and people access contraception without facing unnecessary barriers”, said Welgryn, whose company has already submitted the application. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 July 2022
  8. News Article
    A woman was kept in police custody for 36 hours after having a stillbirth because of suspicions she had an abortion after the legal cut-off point, it has been claimed. UK abortion providers, who supported the woman, denied she had flouted the legal deadline and warned the treatment she endured “should be unthinkable in a civilised society”, with “no conceivable” public interest in holding her. They added that the woman has been under investigation for a year and a half, but still not charged with any crime. Jonathan Lord, medical director of MSI Reproductive Choices, one of the UK’s leading abortion providers, told The Independent the woman unexpectedly delivered a stillborn foetus at home that was about 24 weeks old. Dr Lord, the co-chair of the British Society of Abortion Care Providers, who shared the woman’s story with The Independent, said: “She was shocked to give birth due to not knowing how far along pregnant she was. She was admitted to hospital. “Because healthcare colleagues were suspicious, and knew she had been in touch with us, an abortion provider, as she told them, they suspected her of having an illegal abortion and called the police. But she wasn’t over the limit for a legal abortion. Dr Lord said the experience of having an “extraordinarily unexpected” stillbirth before being taken into police custody during lockdown was “traumatic” and “distressing” for the woman. Read full story Source: The Independent, 5 July 2022
  9. Content Article
    Representatives from Mesh Ireland and Mesh Survivors have this week appeared before the Oireachtas Health Committee, where questions were raised about access to vital diagnostic machines and treament for women who have had vaginal mesh implants put in. Vaginal mesh devices were used to treat issues in women after childbirth, or in their later years, and while it’s not known how many procedures were carried out, it’s believed there were more than 10,000 on the public system alone. Women have experienced painful complications as a result of the procedure and Founder of the Mesh Survivors Ireland Campaign, Melanie Power, who’s a solicitor from Meelick, says many women are unable to work and can’t afford the cost of ongoing treatment. She believes questions need to be answered on why women affected by a post-natal procedure which can cause chronic pain are being means tested for the medical card. Listen to the full interview on Clare FM below.
  10. News Article
    Thalidomide survivors living in Scotland will receive lifelong financial support, the Scottish government has announced. Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said he hoped the commitment to provide grants would reassure those affected. There are 50 known survivors of the banned pregnancy drug living in Scotland, most now in their 60s. They are among thousands born with limb deformities after their mothers took thalidomide while pregnant. The drug was commonly used to treat morning sickness from 1958 to 1961. In 2013 the Scottish government committed £14.2m to help survivors over a 10-year period, with the money going on health and living costs. Ministers have now extended that agreement, with grants to be allocated to survivors on a needs basis, as assessed by the Thalidomide Trust. Mr Yousaf said: "This funding is used to give thalidomide survivors as much assistance as they need to maintain their independence. It has been a vital support in helping people adapt their homes and manage their pain. "I hope this lifelong commitment to continue this support will reassure recipients and help them deal with any challenges they face." Read full story Source: BBC News, 4 July 2022
  11. Content Article
    The maternity services at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust share their infographic which informs their staff of the 15 Immediate and Essential Actions from the Ockenden report and the action plan needed to implement these.
  12. News Article
    The UK response to the removal of the constitutional right to abortion in the US has been one of anger, sadness, and disbelief. The US Supreme Court has voted to overturn the 1973 case of Roe vs Wade, so in effect revoking the constitutional right to abortion that American women have had since the landmark decision. It means the 50 individual US states will be able to set their own abortion laws. Half are expected to ban abortions, some already have, and already clinics across the US have been closing down. The ruling has been widely condemned by the UK’s healthcare organisations, including the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The BMA called it "deeply worrying for the future of women’s reproductive health". Dr Zoe Greaves, chair of the BMA’s medical ethics committee said: "Banning or severely restricting abortion prevents only the safe termination of pregnancy, it doesn’t prevent abortions. If women are denied necessary and appropriate care, they will be forced to travel out of their home state to access services, something which is also being suggested will be made illegal. It could also drive abortion services underground and lead to an increase in self-administered abortions, placing the most vulnerable of women at greatest risk of harm. Restricting abortion will harm ‘rural, minority and poor patients’ the most, according to leading health organisations in the US." Dr Helen Munro, vice-chair of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) said: "Criminalising abortion and hampering access to care only serves to increase the number of unsafe abortions, putting women’s lives at risk. "All women should be able to receive prompt access to abortion services, which should include good pregnancy decision-making support and access to post-abortion contraception by trained healthcare professionals if they choose." Read full story Source: Medscape, 27 June 2022
  13. News Article
    Reproductive health doctors are reacting to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs Wade, the 1973 case that allowed people to seek abortions with limited government intervention. On Friday, Justice Samuel Alito delivered his opinion on the case Dobbs vs Jackson Women's Health, saying he favoured the state of Mississippi in the case. Now, Roe vs Wade, which allowed abortion until about 24 weeks of pregnancy, is overruled, and individual states have the power to decide their residents' abortion rights. OBGYNs who provide abortion care and family-planning services told Insider they worry for their patients' health and safety, and the future of all reproductive healthcare including miscarriages, fertility treatments, and birth control. "This decision made by the SCOTUS is one that completely obliterates freedom from reproductive justice and women's health directly," Dr. Jessica Shepherd, a Texas-based gynecologist and Chief Medical Officer at Verywell Health, told Insider. Dr. Stephanie Ros, a Florida-based OBGYN, says she fears most for working-class abortion seekers. "I'm not worried about my wealthy patients – they will have the means to go 'visit an aunt' in Europe or elsewhere, and access abortion care if they so desire. I'm terrified for my middle class and poor patients, who don't have the means to pick up and travel on a moment's notice, and who often don't have access to medical care to even discover they're pregnant until later than their wealthy counterparts." Read full story Source: Insider, 24 June 2022
  14. News Article
    Diminishing rates of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) jabs have prompted a Royal College warning over the risks to pregnant women, as the NHS raises concerns over London “lagging” behind the national uptake. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s immunisations lead, Dr Helen Bradford, said the falling uptake of the MMR vaccine could present a serious risk to pregnant women and their unborn children. The warning comes as London health authorities are planning a major summer drive to improve uptake in the capital, The Independent has learned. Documents seen by The Independent setting out NHS plans for a summer MMR campaign put the focus on social media, including approaching “influencers” to spread messages. The plans also rely on free publicity, with proposals to approach broadcast media. Risks to increasing uptake, according to the document, included anti-vaxx sentiment towards MMR, apathy towards the vaccine, controversy meaning influencers won’t work with the NHS, and a lack of internal data. Read full story Source: The Independent, 27 June 2022
  15. News Article
    The effects of the Supreme Court's proposed overrule of Roe vs Wade will touch health systems nationwide — leading some clinicians to urge industry leaders to start preparing for potential fallout prior to the decision. "Health systems that view abortion exclusively as a political or partisan issue, perhaps one they'd like to avoid, will soon bear witness to the reality that abortion care, or lack thereof, is a healthcare and health equity issue," Lisa Harris, MD, PhD, wrote in a 11 May for The New England Journal of Medicine. "Avoiding the issue will not be possible, short of abandoning care and equity missions altogether. Thoughtful preparation is needed now." Four leaders at three systems share there insights. Read full story Source: Becker's Hospital Review, 23 June 2022
  16. Content Article
    Derek Richford shares Harry's Story from last year's HSJ Patient Safety Congress. Derek is grandfather of Harry Richford who died seven days after an emergency delivery at  East Kent Hospitals Trust. Derek is joined by Donna Ockenden, Chair of the Independent review of maternity services at Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital, and Sarah-Jane Marsh, Chair of NHS England's Maternity transformation programme, in the 'Actioning recommendations from the Ockenden report' session at the Congress.
  17. News Article
    Women including refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented migrants are being charged as much as £14,000 to give birth on the NHS in England, a report by Doctors of the World (DOTW) has found. The report, which examined inequalities in maternity care among migrant pregnant women and babies, gathered the experiences of 257 pregnant women accessing DOTW’s services from 2017 to 2021. It found that over a third (38%) who accessed its services had been charged for healthcare, often inappropriately. The women were charged £296 to £14 000, and half of them were billed over £7000. The report said that inequalities in access to antenatal care experienced by migrant women were likely to lead to poorer outcomes for their pregnancy and the health of their children. The evidence highlights the need for urgent action to address the inequalities experienced by migrant pregnant women and their babies. There is a pressing need for immigration status to be considered as part of the ethnic and racial health inequalities agenda and for independent action to be taken to review the impact of NHS charging policy. Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ, 20 June 2022
  18. News Article
    More than 80% of UK medical certificates recording stillbirths contain errors, research reveals. More than half the inaccurate certificates contained a significant error that could cause medical staff to misinterpret what had happened. The study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, also shows that three out of four stillbirths certified as having an "unknown cause of death" could, in fact, be explained. A team from the Universities of Edinburgh and Manchester examined more than 1,120 medical certificates of stillbirths, which were issued at 76 UK obstetric units in 2018. Of the 421 which were resolved, 195 were re-designated as foetal growth restriction (FGR), and 184 as placental insufficiency. Dr Michael Rimmer, clinical research fellow at Edinburgh University’s MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, said: “This study shows some medical certificates of stillbirths contain significant errors. "Reducing these errors and accurately recording contributing factors to a stillbirth is important in shaping research and health policies aimed at reducing the number of stillbirths. Read full story Source: The Herald, 21 June 2022
  19. News Article
    A clinical trial to test pregnant women for Group B Strep (GBS) – the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies – will fail unless the Government intervenes, experts have warned. Some 80 hospitals are needed for the trial to go ahead but only 32 have committed to it, with a deadline for registering of September. The trial is being funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and will look at whether testing women for Group B Strep reduces the risk of babies dying or suffering harm. Now Dr Jane Plumb, chief executive of Group B Strep Support, who lost her son Theo to the infection, is calling on the Government and NHS England to intervene to make sure the trial goes ahead. She said: “The reality is that unless a further 48 hospitals sign up for this trial, then it will fail. “The Government is waiting for the results from this trial to determine whether to test pregnant women for Group B Strep. “Yet there seems to be little acknowledgement that this trial is heading towards failure. “We need more hospitals on board and we need to make sure that the investment in this trial is not wasted. “This is about saving the lives of babies, and it really is now or never.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 20 June 2022
  20. News Article
    The language used around childbirth should be less judgemental and more personal, a report led by midwives has found. Most women consulted said terms such as "normal birth" should not be used, it says. The report recommends asking pregnant women what language feels right for them. Maternity care has been under the spotlight after a recent review found failures had led to baby deaths. The new guidance "puts women's choices at its heart, so that they are in the driving seat when it comes to how their labour and birth are described", Royal College of Midwives chief executive Gill Walton said. About 1,500 women who had given birth in the past five years gave their views. Most preferred the term "spontaneous vaginal birth" to "normal birth", "natural birth" or "unassisted birth". Words suggesting "failure", "incompetence" or "lack of maternal effort" should also be avoided, they said. They wanted labour and birth to be a positive experience and for the language used to be non-judgemental, accurate and clear. Read full story Source: BBC News, 15 June 2022
  21. Content Article
    In every aspect of our lives, language matters – and in health and care settings, it’s even more important. How we communicate with each other can determine the quality and impact of the care given and received, which is why developing a shared language is so important. Pregnancy and birth are extraordinarily personal, and personalising care is central to good outcomes and experience. There has been a great deal of debate in recent years about the language around birth, and the impact it can have. During this project from the Royal College of Midwives, for example, women said terms such as ‘failure to progress’ or ‘lack of maternal effort’ can contribute to feelings of failure and trauma. There has been particular debate around the term ‘normal birth’. Despite being the term used by organisations including the International Confederation of Midwives and the World Health Organization, it has often taken on negative connotations in the UK, and particularly in England. In 2020, the Royal College of Midwives, which counts the majority of midwives practising in the UK among its membership, took the decision to address this, and to try to develop an agreed shared language, working with maternity staff, users of maternity services and others involved in the care and support of pregnant women and families. Over the course of 18 months, the consultation has involved nearly 8,000 people from across all four UK nations. How we use language inevitably evolves over time, but the Re:Birth project will help to embed a shared, respectful way of discussing labour and birth.
  22. News Article
    A woman who suffered six miscarriages lost her seventh baby after doctors delayed her caesarean section, a report has found. Chyril Hutchinson was admitted to hospital in February 2021 with high blood pressure when she was 37 weeks pregnant with her daughter Ceniyah Cienna Carter, and was told by doctors at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust she would need a caesarean. But the procedure was delayed as a result of staffing pressures and because Ms Hutchinson’s blood pressure stabilised. She was then told she would have to wait another two weeks for it to be carried out. Given her previous miscarriages, Ms Hutchinson said she pleaded for her baby to be delivered earlier, but her concerns were “dismissed” and she was sent home. Days later, a scan revealed that her baby had died. A trust investigation into Ms Hutchinson’s care found that staff had failed to properly monitor the growth of her baby, which could have indicated the need for an earlier delivery. The internal report, seen by The Independent, also revealed that on the day Ms Hutchinson was told she should have a casaerean, the hospital was six midwives short and the department was busy - a situation the trust said “places additional pressures and possible overload on medical staff”. However, the report concluded that staffing levels did not affect Ms Hutchinson’s care, and it did not state whether the wider failings had led directly to her child being stillborn. Read full story Source: The Independent, 5 June 2022
  23. News Article
    A London hospital has launched an investigation after a woman whose baby died in the womb had to deliver her son at home due to lack of beds and keep his remains in her fridge when A&E staff said they could not store them safely. Laura Brody and her partner, Lawrence, said they were “tipped into hell” after being sent home by university hospital Lewisham to await a bed when told their baby no longer had a heartbeat but no beds were immediately available to give birth, the BBC reported. Two days later, after waking up in severe pain, Brody, who was four months into her pregnancy, gave birth in agony on the toilet in their bathroom. “And it was then,” she told the broadcaster, “I saw it was a boy”. The couple, who wanted investigative tests to be carried out at a later time, dialled 999 but were told it was not an emergency. They wrapped their baby’s remains in a wet cloth, placed him in a Tupperware box, and went to A&E where they were told to wait in the general waiting room, they said. She was eventually taken into a bay and told she would require surgery to remove the placenta. But, with the waiting room hot and stuffy and staff refusing to store the remains or even look inside the Tupperware box, they decided as it got to midnight they had no option but for her partner to take their baby’s remains home. Brody said the whole experience “felt so grotesque”. “When things go wrong with pregnancy there are not the systems in place to help you, even with all the staff and their experts – and they are working really hard – the process is so flawed that it just felt like we had been tipped into hell,” she told Radio 4’s Today programme. The case is said to have raised wider concerns among campaigners who argue that miscarriage care needs to be properly prioritised within hospitals including A&E. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 30 May 2022
  24. News Article
    Black and Asian women are being harmed by racial discrimination in maternity care, according to an inquiry. The year-long investigation into "racial injustice" was conducted by the charity Birthrights. Women reported feeling unsafe, being denied pain relief, facing racial stereotyping about their pain tolerance, and microaggressions. The government has set up a taskforce to tackle racial disparities in maternity care. Hiral Varsani says she was traumatised by her treatment during the birth of her first child. The 31-year-old from north London developed sepsis - a potentially life-threatening reaction to an infection - after her labour was induced, which she says was only spotted after a long delay. "I was shivering, my whole body was aching, my heart was beating really fast and I felt terrible. But everyone kept saying everything was normal," she says. "It was almost 24 hours later before a doctor took my bloods for the first time and realised I was seriously ill." She believes her race played a role in her care: "I experienced microaggressions and was stereotyped because of the colour of my skin. "I was repeatedly ignored, they just thought I was a weak little Indian girl, who was unable to take pain." While death in pregnancy or childbirth is very rare in the UK, there are stark racial disparities in maternal mortality rates. Black women are more than four times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than white women in the UK, while women from Asian backgrounds face almost twice the risk. Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 May 2022
  25. Content Article
    Systemic racism in maternity care is an urgent human rights issue. For too long, evidence and narratives about why racial inequities in maternal outcomes persist have focussed on Black and Brown bodies being the problem – ‘defective’, ‘other’, a risk to be managed. Birthrights’ year-long inquiry into racial injustice has heard testimony from women, birthing people, healthcare professionals and lawyers outlining how systemic racism within maternity care – from individual interactions and workforce culture through to curriculums and policies – can have a deep and devastating impact on basic rights in childbirth. This jeopardises Black and Brown women and birthing people’s safety, dignity, choice, autonomy, and equality. The inquiry’s report, Systemic Racism, Not Broken Bodies, uncovers the stories behind the statistics and demonstrates that it is racism, not broken bodies, that is at the root of many inequities in maternity outcomes and experiences.
×
×
  • Create New...