"We trusted in a system that failed us profoundly, leaving us questioning if our treatment would have been different had we been from a different background." - Amber and Darren
No baby should have an increased risk of dying because of their race or ethnicity.
Bereaved parents Amber, Darren, Vaishali, Bhavna and Vijay are writing to the new government to raise awareness of inequalities and systemic racism in baby loss.
In 2021, Black babies were over twice as likely to be stillborn compared with white babies – and Asian babies were over 50% more likely to be stillborn.
Black and Asian babies are also more likely to die shortly after birth compared with white babies.
This is unacceptable.
The letter outlines some of the problems they experienced in maternity care. It explains why urgent action is needed by the government.
Please add your name. Together we will #EndInequalityInBabyLoss.
Click here to read the open letter.
Click here to read the Open Letter translated into Hindi, Punjabi or Urdu.
To the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,
We are writing to you as a group of bereaved parents to ask you to take urgent action to end inequalities by ethnicity in baby loss.
In the UK, the rates of baby loss for Black and Asian families are much higher than those of white families.
This is unacceptable. No baby should have an increased risk of dying because of their race or ethnicity.
Each of us has written a short section below highlighting our own experiences.
Vaishali
My daughter Jaya was born at 22 weeks on the 19th August 2019. She lived for 14 minutes and died in my arms, holding my husband's finger.
Early on, I was told my pregnancy was high risk. Yet, I did not receive any additional care. On the day of my 20-week scan, I was turned away because of a communication error between the clinic and the midwifery team. When I said that I was experiencing unusual symptoms, my concerns were ignored. I believe that if I had been listened to and given the right advice my daughter would be here today.
Living with the loss of a child is something I wouldn't wish upon anyone.
We need your help to ensure the government takes notice and helps to end racial inequalities in maternity care. Nobody should be at higher risk of losing their baby because of their skin colour.
Bhavna and Vijay
In May 2019, our son Joshan sadly passed away shortly after he was born. We had to wait for three years for an inquest into Joshan's death, where an independent coroner confirmed that a lack of medical intervention had contributed to his death. We had to fight for this eventual admission and apology from the hospital.
We strongly feel that our concerns weren’t listened to by the midwives and doctors whilst Bhavna was in labour. Their body language clearly suggested that they had no empathy with the pain Bhavna was experiencing throughout her labour. Had there been a quicker response to the situation, our son Joshan would be here to celebrate his 5th birthday with us.
There are so many families like ours who lose a baby because medical professionals did not listen to them. We want to help raise awareness, so no other family has to endure the pain we experience daily.
Amber and Darren
In 2022, our joy turned to heartbreak as our twins, conceived after two miscarriages, were born prematurely and passed away due to neglect and missed opportunities in our care.
Despite our pleas for support during a high-risk pregnancy, crucial appointments were cancelled or overlooked, and our concerns were dismissed. A subsequent review highlighted nine instances where proper intervention could have saved our babies. Our memories are now filled with sorrow—birth and farewells, funerals, and visits to their graves. The loss extends beyond us; it impacts our older daughter, our family, and friends.
We trusted in a system that failed us profoundly, leaving us questioning if our treatment would have been different had we been from a different background. It's disheartening to realise that racial disparities may have contributed to our tragedy.
Our hope now lies in sharing our story, advocating for change, and ensuring other families receive the care and support they deserve.
In the latest data available from 2021, Black babies were over twice as likely to be stillborn compared with white babies – and Asian babies were over 50% more likely to be stillborn. Black and Asian babies are also more likely to die shortly after birth compared with white babies.1
Shockingly, Sands has calculated that if between 2017 and 2021, stillbirth & neonatal death rates were the same for Black and Asian babies as white babies, 1,704 babies would have survived.
We all took part in the Sands Listening Project, which heard from a group of Black and Asian bereaved parents about the care they received. Half of the participants believed they received worse care or were treated differently by healthcare staff because of their ethnicity.2
Sadly, we know that these examples are not isolated instances, but part of a well-documented problem of systemic racism experienced by many other Black, Asian and mixed ethnicity families when navigating maternity and neonatal care.3
Urgent action is needed to address this
This is why we are backing Sands’ #EndInequalityInBabyLoss campaign, which calls for action across the Government, NHS and professional bodies to make care safer and more equitable – to save Black and Asian babies’ lives.
The next Government has a vital opportunity to finally end ethnicity related inequalities in baby loss. It must be taken.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet you to discuss this, and our personal experiences, in more detail.
Yours sincerely,
Vaishali
Bhavna and Vijay
Amber and Darren
1)MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Mortality Surveillance, from January to December 2021
2)Sands Listening Project, December 2023
3)Systemic racism, not broken bodies, Birthrights 2022, The Black Maternity Experiences Survey, Five X More 2022, Invisible: Maternity Experiences of Muslim Women from Racialised Minority Communities, Muslim Women’s Network UK 2022, Black people, racism and human rights, Joint Committee on Human Rights 2020