Maternal Mortality rate in the UK: Why Black Women Face Higher Risks

At Global Villaje Media, our mission is to enhance health literacy, address health inequalities, and promote quality health for all. Few issues illustrate the urgency of this mission more powerfully than the crisis of maternal mortality rate among Black women.

Childbirth should be one of the safest and most celebrated moments in a woman’s life. Yet, for Black women in the UK, and across the Atlantic in the U.S. the reality is far more troubling: they face disproportionately high risks of dying during pregnancy, childbirth, or within the first year postpartum. This is not a biological inevitability; it is a stark reflection of systemic inequality and failings in healthcare.

Alarming Maternal Mortality rate from the UK

The MBRRACE-UK report (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries), which monitors maternal deaths to improve care, reveals a crisis:

• Between 2020–2022, the maternal death rate rose to 13.41 per 100,000 maternities, compared to 8.79 per 100,000 in 2017–2019, a 53% increase in just a few years (University of Oxford).

• Even after excluding COVID-19, the rate remained high at 11.54 per 100,000 (Maternal Mental Health Alliance).

• While the overall maternal mortality rate is concerning for all women, Black women remain most at risk, historically up to four times more likely to die than white women. Today, that gap is closer to twice as likely, but the disparity remains unacceptable (The Guardian).

• To put it plainly: around 32 Black women per 100,000 births die, compared to 7 white women per 100,000 (BBC).

  
  

Echoes Across the Atlantic

This is not just a British problem. In the U.S., the CDC reports that Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.

• In 2023, the maternal death rate for Black women was just over 50 per 100,000 births, compared to 14.5 per 100,000 for white women (AP News).

The parallels are undeniable. Geography changes, but the structural inequities remain the same.

Why Is Maternal Mortality rate Greater in Black Women

Several overlapping factors drive these disparities:

• Systemic racism and bias in healthcare: Too often, Black women report being dismissed when raising concerns. A Times investigation revealed some were denied pain relief under the stereotype of being “strong Black women.”

• Socioeconomic inequality: Housing insecurity, poverty, and barriers to education and employment all contribute to poorer long-term health.

• Pre-existing health conditions: Black women face higher rates of conditions like hypertension and diabetes, which are linked to social determinants of health.

• Failings in maternity care: Nearly 38% of maternal deaths in the UK may have been preventable with better clinical care (UK Parliament Report).

  
  

A Call to Justice

A woman’s race should never dictate her chances of surviving childbirth. Yet, the statistics tell us otherwise.

At Global Villaje Media, we believe addressing this crisis requires:

• Accountability in healthcare systems,

• Active listening to Black mothers’ voices,

• And systemic reforms that prioritise equality, compassion, and cultural competence.

Every number in these reports represents a real woman, a grieving family, and a preventable tragedy.

Until Black women can walk into a hospital and expect the same level of care and safety as anyone else, our work is far from over.

At Global Villaje Media, we’ll continue to shine a light on these injustices because every mother deserves safe, respectful, and equitable care in childbirth.