Ethnic diversity in childbirth in London
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding diversity in childbirth and London’s ethnic gap in maternal morbidity
IRAS ID
296777
Contact name
Lia Betti
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
DARS-NIC-350331-P9L1M-v0, NHS Digital DARS application number; LSC 21/ 336, Internal ethics application
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 20 days
Research summary
Black women in Britain are five times more likely to die in childbirth than white women, and women of Asian background have a two-fold risk of maternal death. Substantial ethnic gaps in maternal morbidity have also been described, with white women having the lowest rate of severe morbidity and black women the highest. While unconscious bias and institutional racism have been discussed as potential reasons for this disparity, one factor that has not been explored to date is the fact that obstetric care has been modelled on white women’s physiology: obstetric and midwifery training, and calculations that define what counts as a normal progression of labour are based on studies of childbirth in women of largely white ethnicity. Yet, there is evidence of ethnic differences in the length of labour, in birth weight, and in the most common presentation of the baby at birth. \nThis study will explore the extent to which the parameter of childbirth and the rate of birth interventions differ between white and BAME women in London, to evaluate two things:\n1)\tAre key parameters of childbirth—such as length of the two main stages of labour, duration of pregnancy, birth weight, baby’s presentation at birth—different in white, Asian, East Asian and black women in the UK? \n2)\tAre specific childbirth interventions—such as hormonal induction, forceps application, C-sections—used more frequently in some ethnic groups? Is the rate of interventions correlated with physiological differences in the process of labour? Could the difference in rates of intervention contribute to the ethnic morbidity and mortality gaps?\n
REC name
East of England - Cambridge East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/EE/0078
Date of REC Opinion
29 Mar 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion