Mothers in Britain twice as likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth as in Poland

A report by Save the Children has found that the UK is ranked 24th in the charity’s annual State of the World’s Mothers Index, meaning that Britain’s expectant mothers have lower chances of survival than mothers in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and many former Soviet nations.

Contributory factors for the poor ranking are obesity, high rates of IVF and the growing number of older mothers, who run the risk of a number of problems, which include potentially lethal complications.

Poor access to health care and social deprivation are also believed to have contributed to the position in Britain.

Patrick O’Brien of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said that the UK collects specific and detailed information on maternal deaths, and this may have caused the ranking to suffer.

Mr O’Brien, a consultant obstetrician, said “Britain is an incredibly safe place to have a baby.

“The reason the figures sometimes appear higher is because we are so good at chasing up and investigating every woman who has a complication and dies.

“We are never complacent and extremely thorough about learning about any problems that cause death.”

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), Medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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