NHS midwives to receive anti-racism training to combat 'national emergency' of maternity deaths

Alice Tomlinson
Wed, 08 Apr 2026 06:32:06 +0000

Midwives working in the NHS are to receive anti-racism training to combat the "national emergency" of maternity deaths.

Midwifery university courses are to be overhauled after concerns are growing that discrimination in maternity wards are contributing to higher deaths among black and Asian mothers.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is planning to integrate anti-racism training during degrees to tackle "systemic" discrimination in maternity.

Reviews into the deaths of mothers and babies, as well as maternity scandals, have pointed to racism being a contributing factor to the avoidable tragedies.

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There has been accounts where black mothers were denied pain relief by midwives, being called "tough" or "demanding" and told they were better at enduring childbirth.

Maternity deaths, during or after childbirth, have hit their highest levels in 20 years in England, with black women three times more likely to die than her white counterpart, the Times reports.

Black babies are twice more likely to be stillborn.

The NHS has been notified with 22 safety warnings by official bodies to tackle discrimination in maternity wards over the past 10 years, but the situation is worsening, rather than improving.

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