What does the data actually show?
Short answer
MBRRACE-UK — the national programme that reviews every maternal death in the UK — found that in 2020–2022, Black women were almost three times more likely to die during pregnancy or in the six weeks after it ended than White women, and that this disparity has continued to widen over successive reporting periods. Black and Caribbean women were also found to face a higher risk of severe pregnancy complications, including hypertensive disorders such as eclampsia.
This isn't a claim about any individual clinician's intent. It's an established, repeatedly-replicated pattern across NHS maternity care as a whole, documented by an independent national surveillance programme, not by campaigners or claimant solicitors. Parliament's Health and Social Care Committee and the Women and Equalities Committee have both examined the data and called for government action.
How does this connect to a legal claim?
A maternity negligence claim is decided the same way regardless of the patient's ethnicity: did the care you received fall below the standard a reasonably competent maternity team would have provided (the Bolam test, refined by Bolitho), and did that failure cause avoidable harm? You do not need to prove that race was the reason care fell short in order to bring a claim.
What the documented disparity does is provide context that can be directly relevant to specific breaches commonly seen in maternity claims — most importantly, whether reported symptoms were properly listened to and acted on. If you told a midwife or obstetrician about pain, bleeding, breathlessness, a severe headache, or reduced fetal movements, and that report wasn't followed up with the examination or escalation a competent clinician would have carried out, that failure to act is what a claim examines — irrespective of why it happened.
What if the harm happened after birth, at home or on the ward?
A significant share of maternal deaths and severe complications happen in the postnatal period, not during labour itself — sepsis, haemorrhage, and hypertensive complications like eclampsia can all develop or worsen in the days after delivery. A failure to recognise these red-flag symptoms, or to act promptly once they were reported, is treated in exactly the same way as a failure during labour.
What evidence does a claim need?
- The full antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal records, including midwifery and nursing notes.
- Any record of symptoms or concerns you or a birth partner reported, and how (or whether) they were followed up.
- Observation charts (blood pressure, temperature, early warning scores) covering the relevant period.
- Independent expert evidence from a consultant obstetrician, midwife, or relevant specialist depending on the harm involved.
- Where the baby was also affected, see our birth injury claims guide for the evidence specific to that harm.
What is the time limit?
Three years from the date of the negligent care, or from the date of knowledge, under the Limitation Act 1980. Where the baby was harmed, the child has until their 21st birthday to bring their own claim. Where a mother has died, a claim may be brought by the estate or dependants under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.
How is a claim funded?
As with other clinical negligence claims, these are almost always funded on a Conditional Fee Agreement — no win no fee. You pay nothing upfront, and nothing if the claim doesn't succeed.
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Frequently asked questions
Is 'race' itself a legal ground for a claim?
No — a claim still has to meet the ordinary negligence test: a breach of the duty of care that caused harm. What the documented disparity does is provide important context. If you believe your symptoms were dismissed, your reported pain wasn't taken seriously, or you weren't listened to in a way that a similarly-presenting White patient would have been, that goes directly to whether the standard of care you actually received fell below what a reasonably competent clinician should have provided.
What if I can't prove race was a factor, just that something went wrong?
You don't need to prove why care fell short to bring a claim — only that it did, and that it caused harm. Many successful maternity negligence claims never need to establish a reason for the substandard care at all. The wider data is relevant context, not something you need to prove case by case.
Does this apply to postnatal harm too, not just labour and delivery?
Yes. A significant proportion of maternal deaths and severe complications happen in the days and weeks after birth, not just during labour. Symptoms of postnatal complications — including sepsis, haemorrhage, and hypertensive disorders such as eclampsia — being dismissed or not followed up promptly can found a claim in exactly the same way as a failure during labour itself.
What if my baby, not I, was harmed?
The same claim can cover harm to either mother or baby, or both, where it results from the same underlying failure in care. See our guides on birth injury and cerebral palsy claims for how claims specific to the baby's harm work.
What is the time limit for a claim?
Three years from the date of the negligent care, or from the date of knowledge, under the Limitation Act 1980 — though for harm to a baby, the child has until their 21st birthday to bring their own claim regardless of when their parents could have claimed.
Related guides
Sources & further reading
Primary statute, case law and regulator guidance referenced in this article.
- MBRRACE-UK — Saving Lives, Improving Mothers' Care (maternal mortality surveillance) — National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford
- House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee — Black maternal health — UK Parliament
- House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee — Black maternal health — UK Parliament
- Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee [1957] 1 WLR 582 — Case law
- Limitation Act 1980 — UK Legislation