In Britain, black women are more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than white women

It was announced in November that black women are four times as likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than white women. Those of south Asian origin are also at greatly increased risk. Predictably enough, racism was suggested as the culprit and there were calls, ‘to address the systemic issues of cultural and structural biases affecting women’s care on the basis of their pregnancy’. This is of course nonsense. We look at the real reasons that black women and those of south Asian heritage are more at risk than white mothers. British Medical Journal (2019) Keeping it in the family: consanguineous marriage and genetic disorders, from Islamabad to Bradford, BMJ 2019;365:l1851, 29/4/2019. Alberg, Corinna; Kroese, Mark; Burton, Hillary (2014) Enhanced Genetic Services Project Evaluation Report, Cambridge: PHG Founda