Maternal deaths: Official figures show more women dying despite fewer births

Growing numbers of women are dying during pregnancy or soon after giving birth, even though fewer babies are being born, figures show.

- Denis Campbell

From 2015 to 2017, 209 maternal deaths occurred in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; that figure rose to 254 in 2021-23, data compiled by the House of Commons library shows. The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has acknowledged that poor care in NHS maternity services is so widespread it has led to "the normalisation of deaths of women and babies".

A maternal death is defined as one that occurs while a woman is pregnant or within 42 days of the pregnancy ending – either in the delivery of a child or other events such as a stillbirth.

"It is appalling that maternity deaths are rising even after the years of concern over the state of services that has led to so many scandals with deadly consequences," said the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, Jess Brown-Fuller, who commissioned the library's research.

"Families are being torn apart and unimaginable pain is being caused after years of shocking neglect so that now, even with the number of births declining, the number of deaths are rising," added Brown-Fuller, who speaks for the party on primary care and hospitals.