TODAY, PARLIAMENT will hold a debate on black maternal mortality at 6.15pm following efforts from campaign group FiveXMore and others.

The group cites research which found that black women are four times more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth and after childbirth.

The grassroots campaign group, set up by Clotilde Rebecca Abe and Tinuke Awe received over 187,000 signatures on their petition calling for “urgent action” to address the problem.

“Parliament has a duty to hold the NHS to account, to set clear targets and an action plan to address this racial disparity that has not changed for decades,” the group said.

The Labour Party are also expected to to call on the government to commit to a target, according to reports from The Independent.

FiveXMore will also be launching a national survey to better understand black women’s maternal health outcomes.

At a recent public debate on the topic, Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said: “Most women never feel more vulnerable than when they’re pregnant. The statistics about black maternal health are truly alarming but what’s even more alarming is how little has been done about this.”

Bell Ribeiro Addy, who is Labour’s Shadow minister for immigration said: “The colour of a mother’s skin should have no impact on her health or her baby’s health.

“Black babies have an 112% increased risk of stillbirth and 50% increased risk of neonatal death.”

Activist and campaigner Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu pointed out how racist stereotypes contribute to this health inequality.

“The trope of the strong Black woman is a racist trope. It’s there to silence our pain,” she explained.

“It’s important to understand how this contributes to the higher proportion of pregnancy-related deaths we’re seeing today.”

The petition, which has forced the government to hold the parliamentary discussion today reads: “We need more research done into why this is happening and recommendations to improve health care for black women.”

The government responded to the petition on January 25, 2020 saying : “The government is funding a NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) Policy Research Unit in Maternal and Neonatal Health and Care study into factors associated with the higher risk of maternal death for Black and South Asian women.

“The NHS Long-Term Plan (LTP) takes a concerted and systematic approach to reducing health inequalities and addressing unwarranted variation in care. Work to improve equity in health outcomes for mothers and their babies is led by Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE, Chief Midwifery Officer for England. The work aims to understand why mortality rates are higher, consider evidence about what will reduce mortality rates and take action to improve equity in outcomes for mothers and their babies. This is being carried out as part of the Maternity Transformation Programme (MTP), which is implementing the vision for maternity services set out in ‘Better Births’ and the NHS LTP.”

This article was updated to reflect that the debate started at 6.15pm not 6.30pm.