The Coronavirus Pandemic: UK Healthcare System Failing Pregnant Black
British Women
By Shola Adenekan
Tuesday, June 16, 2020.
The Royal
College of Midwives (RCM) is calling for urgent action as a new study published
in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) today shows more than half of pregnant women recently admitted
to UK hospitals with a COVID-19 infection were from Black, Asian or other
ethnic minority (BAME) groups.
RCM Chief Executive Gill Walton believes a clear and urgent direction
and leadership is needed from the Government to tackle this issue.
“Even before the pandemic, women from Black, Asian or ethnic minority
backgrounds were more likely to die in and around their pregnancy,” she points
out. “This crisis has exacerbated this, putting women at risk. Help and support is there for these women, but we
need to ensure it is accessible for the communities most in need of it.”
Other recent studies have shown the
coronavirus pandemic is having a more devastating effect on Black Britain as
well as other ethnic minority groups. A report commissioned by the UK Government,
which the Conservative Party administration is trying to suppress, reveals that racism and discrimination suffered by Black Britons and Asian and
minority ethnic people has contributed to the high death rates from Covid-19 in
those communities. Non-white Britons are
more likely to experience racism when accessing healthcare in Britain.
But the RCM says it has already
launched a targeted campaign to raise awareness amongst pregnant women from
BAME backgrounds and to reassure them and their families that help is available
during the pandemic.
The poster campaign reiterates the message that maternity services
are open, alongside four key messages:
· If you have a cough, are breathless or feel hot and shivery, call your
midwife
· Attend all your appointments. Some maybe by phone or via video
· If you are worried about your baby’s movements or if you are bleeding
call your midwife immediately.
· Make a private space for you and your midwife during home visits.
Gill Walton added:
“Despite the huge efforts of midwives and their maternity colleagues, black and
Asian women are still at unacceptable risk. The system is failing them and that
has got to change quickly, because they matter, their lives matter and they deserve
the best and safest care.”