Every year MBRRACE-UK produces a “Perinatal Mortality Surveillance” report which provides rates for stillbirths and neonatal deaths, and also for these deaths combined; known as ‘extended perinatal deaths’.
The report looks at baby deaths in different ways – for both where the mother lived and also for where the baby was born. As the rate of death is influenced by poverty, ethnicity and the age of the mother, some of the rates take into account the number of high-risk women and babies each organisation cares for in order to make comparisons as fair as possible.
The 2018 report concludes 3 main findings:
- Stillbirth rates for Black and Black British babies are over twice those for White babies
- Asian and Asian British newborn babies are 60% more likely to die than White babies
- Women living in the most deprived areas are at an 80% higher risk of stillbirth and neonatal death compared to women living in the least deprived areas
Recommendations:
- To understand what support women from Black and Asian communities specifically need around conception, pregnancy and childbirth
- To support poorer women throughout pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting, by ensuring different agencies who support them, from social care to health services, work together
Read full report: MBRRACE-UK_Perinatal_Surveillance_Report_2018_-_summary.pdf (ox.ac.uk)