The Royal College of Midwives has called for urgent action following the publication of a House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee report exposing inequalities in outcomes for Black women in maternity care.
The report identifies systemic failings in leadership, training, and ethnicity data collection, which are preventing meaningful progress in tackling disparities. The RCM, which gave evidence to the inquiry in June, also criticised the lack of accountability among commissioners and providers for failing to address deep-rooted racism and bias.
The RCM has long advocated for changes to the midwifery curriculum, ensuring students are equipped to care for women and babies from global majority backgrounds. In 2023, it launched a first-of-its-kind toolkit co-created with educators, students, and service users to help decolonise midwifery education.
This was followed by the Decolonising Midwifery Practice publication in 2024, which urged NHS Trusts and Boards to:
- Update clinical guidelines
- Ensure policies reflect varying skin tones and cultures
- Provide advice on detecting conditions like jaundice and cyanosis in babies with darker skin
Head of Policy and Practice at the RCM, Clare Livingstone, said:
“It should not be the case that these inequalities exist in England today. That Black women are at greater risk during pregnancy and birth is a disgrace.
“The recommendations in this report must be acted upon urgently and everyone in maternity services must work together to tackle these shocking disparities.
“In our evidence to this inquiry the RCM called for mandatory training for all midwives that addresses unconscious bias, cultural competency and how medical conditions present in different ethnic groups.
“That training needs to happen in the workplace and must be protected. Equally the lived experience of women and their families must be at the centre of the drive to tackle existing disparities once and for all. We must really listen to these women, learn from mistakes and share good practice.
“We are pleased that the evidence the RCM gave to the inquiry around the gaps in data collection have been cited in the report. These gaps are obscuring the true extent of disparities and preventing the urgent improvements we need to see.”
The Committee’s report also highlights broader pressures on maternity services, including a drastic reduction in targeted funding. The Maternity Service Development Fund has been cut from £95 million to just £2 million, prompting the RCM to call for its urgent restoration to support struggling services.
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