Labour MP warns of 'staggering' disparities faced by black women in pregnancy and childbirth
19 March 2021, 16:49
Bell Ribeiro-Addy on maternity outcomes for black women
This is the moment Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy told LBC about the "staggering" disparities faced by black women in pregnancy and childbirth.
Black women are four times more likely than white women to die in pregnancy or childbirth, according to the most recent annual report by MBRRACE-UK (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries).
The Labour MP spoke to LBC after telling the Commons earlier this month that her pregnancy nearly killed her and that her daughter tragically did not survive.
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Speaking of the maternal outcomes faced by black women to LBC's Shelagh Fogarty, Ms Ribeiro-Addy said: "Overall, I would say maternity issues in this country are not well taken care of.
"If you look at our rates for maternal morbidity in comparison to some Nordic countries, I think it would be quite upsetting overall.
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"We do need to do better overall. But the rates for black women are particularly staggering."
She added: "Now when you put all of those [things] together and also [consider] what happens after a black women gives birth in terms of their health outcomes after that, it's quite shocking and the disparities are unacceptable."
