Data shows racial divide in pain relief during birth

Women from black and Asian backgrounds are less likely than their white counterparts to receive an epidural while giving birth, research has revealed.

- Tobi Thomas

The findings, based on data collected from more than 2.7 million UK births, prompted experts to raise the alarm about an “ethnicity pain gap” that means people of colour are more likely to be deprived of adequate pain relief within medical settings.

The data comes as Guardian analysis exposes evidence of racial inequalities in pain relief offered to people across all areas of healthcare - from children in A&E to palliative care offered to cancer patients. Four medical royal colleges have called for better data collection on how patients from minority-ethnic backgrounds are more likely to have their pain dismissed by health providers.

The analysis on pain relief provided to women giving birth, published in the journal Anaesthesia, examined data collected over a 10-year period up until 2021. It found that women from Bangladeshi, Pakistani and black Caribbean backgrounds were 24%, 15% and 8% less likely respectively to receive an epidural during a vaginal birth, compared with white women.

A report this week by the Labour peer and former diplomat Valerie Amos into maternity care in the UK detailed widespread failings, including women being ignored and poor triage of mothers-to-be. Her 181-page report found these were partly the result of deeper, more systemic issues such as institutional racism.

The research follows a string of reports in other countries, including the US and Australia, detailing examples of racism in the treatment and handling of patients.