The College responds to MBRRACE-UK State of the nation report, UK perinatal deaths of babies born in 2023
- The 2023 MBRRACE-UK report shows that rates of baby death (shortly before, during, or soon after birth) continued to decrease in 2023. Compared to 2022, stillbirth rates were lower in every nation of the UK and fewer newborns died in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
- In 2023, the stillbirth rate was 4.84 baby deaths for every 1,000 births. This is 20% lower than in 2013.
- Neonatal deaths in 2023 increased for babies born very prematurely, between 24 and 31 weeks, but decreased for those born at 32 weeks or later.
- Stillbirth rates went down for Black and White babies, but increased by 10% for Asian babies. Black babies were still more than twice as likely to be stillborn compared to White babies. Neonatal death rates fell for all ethnic groups, but they remained highest for Asian and Black babies.
Dr Ranee Thakar, RCOG President, responded to the report, saying:
“The continued reduction in the number of babies dying in the UK is warmly welcomed and testament to the passion and dedication of all those working in maternity and neonatal services. However, the death of any baby is a tragedy that stays with the families affected for the rest of their lives, so we must see the government set ambitious new targets to further reduce stillbirths and premature births, with a clear timeframe and long-term funding.
“The MBRRACE data show that more Black and Asian babies are dying shortly before, during, or soon after birth than White babies. This underlines the need for a strong, cross-government approach to ending inequalities in maternity outcomes. Hard-working maternity teams must also be supported to work with local communities to understand and remove additional barriers to care.”
“The RCOG is committed to working with national and local partners to improve the experiences and outcomes for all pregnant women and their babies. This includes our critical role in developing guidelines that support best clinical practice, providing first-class education and training for obstetricians, and our maternity improvement programmes.”
“I also hope that, when the upcoming 10-Year Health plan for the NHS publishes, the government will make clear how this will support the pre-existing Three Year Delivery Plan for maternity and neonatal services and the Long Term Workforce Plan, so we can turn the corner for maternity care in the UK.”
- The MBRRACE-UK State of the nation report on UK perinatal deaths of babies born in 2023 is available here.