Priority 1 Restore NHS inclusively

Rationale and implementation

Pregnant women from ethnic minority groups faced disproportionate risks during COVID-19. Although they represent only 25% of births in England and Wales, 56% of pregnant women admitted to hospital with COVID-19 were from these groups. To address this, maternity units were asked to implement four key actions:

Four actions

  1. Increase clinical support
    Lower thresholds for review, admission, and multidisciplinary escalation for women from ethnic minority backgrounds.
  2. Tailored communication
    Proactively reach out and reassure BAME pregnant women with culturally appropriate messaging.
  3. Promote nutrition and supplements
    Discuss vitamins and nutrition with all pregnant women.
    • Vitamin D: Women with darker skin or who cover their skin should take daily supplements year-round.
    • Folic Acid: 400 micrograms daily before pregnancy and until 12 weeks to prevent birth defects.
  4. Record risk factors
    Capture ethnicity and other risks (postcode, co-morbidities, BMI, age 35+) in maternity systems to identify those most vulnerable.

Support available

  • Help Us Help You maternity campaign with multilingual resources.
  • Leaflets for parents in 11 languages.
  • Communications toolkit for local maternity teams.

References: