Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce rates of stillbirth and neonatal deaths and (b) address racial inequalities in stillbirths and neonatal deaths; and if his Department will launch an inquiry into the rates of stillbirth and neonatal death among Asian and Asian British babies.

The Department has funded the National Health Service to implement a range of initiatives to reduce stillbirths and neonatal rates, including the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle which standardises five evidence-based elements of care demonstrated to reduce stillbirths and neonatal deaths; reducing smoking in pregnancy; risk assessment, prevention and surveillance of pregnancies at risk of fetal growth restriction; raising awareness of reduced fetal movement; effective fetal monitoring during labour and reducing pre-term birth. There has been a 25% reduction in the stillbirth rate and a 29% reduction in the neonatal mortality rate for babies born after 24 weeks gestation since 2010.

NHS England and NHS Improvement published ‘Equity and Equality: Guidance for Local Maternity Systems’ on 6 September. This guidance asks Local Maternity Systems (LMS) to produce an analysis on health outcomes by 30 November 2021 and an action plan for mothers and babies from minority ethnic and other backgrounds. The guidance is supported by £6.8 million for LMS to implement these plans and targeted and enhanced continuity of carer. LMS are being asked to include four interventions to prevent avoidable deaths of babies in their action plans:

- targeted and enhanced continuity of carer for 75% of women from black, Asian and mixed ethnic groups by 2024 and additional midwifery time to support women from the most deprived areas;

- smoke-free pregnancy pathways for mothers and their partners;

- breastfeeding strategies to improve breastfeeding rates for women living in the most deprived areas; and

- culturally-sensitive genetics services for consanguineous couples.

A confidential enquiry into perinatal deaths of Black/Black British babies is currently being undertaken by the MBRRACE-UK Maternal, Newborn and Infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme. The Department has no current plans to concurrently establish an inquiry into the rates of stillbirth and neonatal deaths among Asian and Asian British babies.