Pregnant women have been scared of engaging with maternity services due to Covid-19

Pregnant women have been scared of engaging with maternity services because of Covid-19, the chief midwifery officer has told MPs.

Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE, Chief Midwifery Officer, NHS England and NHS Improvement, has said that women have been “scared” of engaging maternity service as they fear they might get Covid-19.

Discussing the disproportionate levels of maternal deaths among black mothers at the joint committee on Human Rights, Professor Dunkley-Bent said Covid-19 had “shone a light” on inequality.

Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent  told members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons: “We have anecdotal evidence that pregnant mums are fearful, they're scared of engaging with maternity services for fear of catching Covid-19.

“So with that anecdotal evidence and with the UKOSS data that you’ve cited, that means that Black, Asian and minority women are disproportionately in hospital in comparison to their white counterparts - our anecdotal evidence tells us that women are fearful.

“So they’re more likely to sit at home with a problem that in a world outside of Covid would have taken them into hospital and received timely care.”

Analysis shows Black pregnant women are eight times more likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid-19, while Asian women are four times as likely.

Meanwhile, research from Oxford University shows that 55 per cent of the pregnant women admitted to hospital with Covid-19 are from a BAME background, even though they only make up a quarter of the births in England and Wales.

Prof Dunkley-Bent added that the NHS had been communicating “at pace and with intensity” to women and their families to help reduce anxiety and encourage them to engage with services earlier.