One of the most moving and powerful debates at our recent Brighton Conference was on a motion from the official Lib Dem Women organisation on improving the inherent inequality in neonatal and maternity care.

I wrote about the debate at the time:

Lib Dem Women had put forward a motion on tackling inequality in pregnancy and neonatal care. Some of the stories of maternal and pregnancy loss were shocking,  and the higher rates among black and Asian communities shameful.  Laura Gordon told a terrible story about the death of a young refugee who didn’t get the care she needed and died. Maybe if she had had an interpreter, her life might have been saved. There’s no sign of Labour improving things because of the lack of money. As Tam Langley said “We have to invest in babies who can’t wait for the economy to recover.”

Donna Harris has written an article for Comment Central about the motion and why it was needed.

espite being the second-largest economy in Europe, the UK has a higher infant mortality rate than 26 of its European neighbours, earning a troubling reputation as the infant mortality capital of Europe. How is this possible? These deaths are preventable. These tragedies are avoidable. Yet, nearly half of our maternity services are rated as “inadequate” or “requiring improvement” by the Care Quality Commission

The motion called for those who had suffered pregnancy loss to be offered help and support by the NHS after one miscarriage, not three. Donna explains why:

Women who suffer miscarriages often face not only the grief of losing their babies but also often endure traumatic medical interventions. Their pain and trauma are often dismissed, swept under the carpet as if it never happened. In the National Health Service, a woman must endure three miscarriages before being referred to a consultant. It is little surprise that many women who experience pregnancy loss suffer from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and perinatal obsessive-compulsive disorder. This policy must change now!

The figures on infant mortality for black and asian mothers and babies babies compared to white mothers and babies are shocking:

Black babies are almost twice as likely to die within their first 28 days as White babies, while Asian babies are one and a half times more likely to die. Black women are nearly four times more likely to face maternal mortality than White women. Mothers and babies who are Black, Black-mixed, or Asian often
encounter unconscious bias in both diagnosis and care.

She set out a challenge to new Health Secretary Wes Streeting:

In a parliamentary debate in July, Labour’s Wes Streeting admitted that “Maternity safety keeps me awake at night.” Now, with his hands on the levers of power, we need more than insomnia—we need action.

As Chair of Liberal Democrat Women, I believe the UK has the potential to be the
safest place in the world to have a baby. Labour has no more excuses. It must
deliver for women and children—because they are literally dying for change.

Labour did not discuss this issue at its Conference, nor did it make any policy announcements on it so the Lib Dems are again leading the way calling for improvments.

You can read Donna’s whole article here.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings