United Kingdom’s Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths new report (MBRRACE): nothing has changed.

MBRRACE-UK is pleased to announce the publication on the 11th November 2021 of the MBRRACE-UK Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care report for 2021. The United Kingdom’s Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths represents a gold standard around the world for investigations and improvements in maternity care.

The key messages from these reports are persistently similar year on year. In examining all causes of deaths, assessors judged that in 37% of cases improvements in care may have made a difference to the outcome. This will be the last report to describe messages from the care of women who died before the COVID-19 pandemic.

As shown in previous reports, outcomes for women are not equal. There remain gaps in mortality rates between women from deprived and affluent areas, women of different ages and women from different ethnic groups. This inequality gap is something which continues to grow.

Some key messages for women and their families in the report – look after mental health and look for tell tale signs. Be aware of the need to monitor this and to seek help when needed. For older mothers, there is advice on staying healthy and well.