Maternal Mortality

Baroness Hughes of Stretford Excerpts

Tuesday 20th January 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Hughes of Stretford]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take in response to the finding in the MBRRACE-UK report Maternal mortality 2022–2024, published on 8 January, that the maternal death rate in pregnancy rose by 20 per cent between 2009–11 and 2022–24.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

My Lords, MBRRACE’s report highlights the need to improve maternity safety, to which this Government are fully committed. We have commissioned an independent investigation that will present recommendations in the spring, while the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by the Secretary of State, will transform these into a deliverable national action plan to drive change. In the meantime, we are taking various actions, including piloting Martha’s rule and expanding the maternal medicine networks.

[Baroness Hughes of Stretford (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that Answer. She will know that the Conservatives promised to halve maternity mortality by 2025. Instead, as the report shows, it has risen substantially, with stark disparities for older women and those from BME and disadvantaged backgrounds. Between 2021 and 2023, over 600 women died either during or shortly after pregnancy—a tragedy compounded by the fact that, in the majority of cases, this was from a preventable complication of the pregnancy itself. I know the Government are taking certain actions, to which she referred. Those are welcome, but they are not being applied consistently in every area. More importantly, trusts are not required to inform NHS England of the plans they are making. In short, I say to my noble friend that there seems to be a lack of robust oversight. How will the Government ensure that the standards and new procedures that they want to implement will be implemented effectively by every trust and in relation to every pregnant woman?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My noble friend is right to use the word “tragedy” in respect of maternal deaths, particularly those from preventable causes. She is also correct that, sadly, most aspects of the maternal safety ambition that was set under the previous Government are very unlikely to be achieved. We have to make sure that, for any future target, the system can deliver. As one example, the maternal care bundle sets clear standards across all services for implementation by NHS providers and commissioners, and is focused very much on the main causes of maternal death and harm, as my noble friend asks for.