NCT responds to MBRRACE-UK's 2025 Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care report

"Every number in this report is a woman and a family shattered and a heartbreaking reflection of a system that failed to provide timely, compassionate and responsive care.  

“By global standards, giving birth in the UK remains safe, but the lower number of deaths cannot be mistaken for progress - women are still dying when they shouldn’t be.

“Unacceptable inequalities persist: Black and Asian women and those living in the most deprived areas continue to face disproportionately high risks during pregnancy and after birth. Mental-health related deaths are rising and over 20 per cent (144) of the women who died had experienced domestic abuse before or during pregnancy – a figure that has almost quadrupled since 2012-14.  

“These deaths were not inevitable - better care could have saved lives. But fragmentation and poor coordination between emergency, maternity and postnatal care, primary, and community-based services puts women at risk.

“The national investigation into England’s maternity and neonatal services must deliver a single, national blueprint for maternity safety. It must prioritise women and people who are pregnant who face multiple, severe disadvantages - including racism, poverty, trauma and poor mental health. It must ensure  they receive seamless, personalised and holistic care from pregnancy and through birth and the postnatal period – and be clear that a well-trained and resourced workforce is crucial to delivering this safety net.”