Thread by @fivexmore

MPs are debating our petition in Parliament right now #BlackMaternalHealthDebate

Tune in now and take the #fivexmoreselfie if you haven't already ⏬

@CatMcKinnell quotes our founder @MumsandTea:
"In 1991, when my mum gave birth to me, she was at greater risk of dying.

In 2020, that risk had increased and I was 5x more likely to die.

I'll be damned if my daughter is 25x more likely to die whenever she decides to give birth."

@HarrietHarman highlights the finding from a recent Select Committee report that 78% of Black women do not believe that their health is equally protected
by the NHS compared to white people #BlackMaternalHealthDebate

"What we are asking today and what campaigners are asking the Government to do is to listen and really take the data seriously and I hope, when the minister is summing up, she will be introducing an NHS target to end this disgusting disparity." - @KateOsamor #BlackMaternalHealth

"For far too many women, pregnancy and childbirth can be complicated and dangerous...

We have to do everything we can to ensure pregnancy and childbirth is the safest it can be for all women in this country." - @FloEshalomi #BlackMaternalHealthDebate

"We see in the data that's available and people's experiences how health services designed disproportionately by non-Black people fail to meet the needs of Black people. It is an institutional problem." - @SarahOwen_ #BlackMaternalHealthDebate

"Black babies have a 50% increased risk of neonatal death and 121% increased risk of stillbirth like my own daughter. With figures like that, I wonder how much of a chance she really had." - @BellRibeiroAddy tells the harrowing story of her own loss

"I would like for people to stop blaming Black women. So often Black women are viewed as the problem but we could be the solution if you could just listen to us, if you could just respect us, if you could just care for us." - @BellRibeiroAddy

"These tragic deaths are part of a wider story of health inequality, with Black women facing disparities when it comes to stillbirths, cancer diagnosis, and access to fertility treatment." - @abenaopp

Another important point from @abenaopp calling for an end to No Recourse to Public Funds - "some women face costs of £7,000 or more for essential maternity care, the very women at increased risk of mortality and its time for this practice to end" #BlackMaternalHealthDebate

"The Government's crusade to deny the impact of institutional racism means the disproportionate suffering of women of African, of Asian, of minority ethnic backgrounds is being ignored. This must change." - @ClaudiaWebbe

"If we are serious about eliminating maternal health inequalities, then we must tackle the inequalities that exist in all areas of society." - @Wera_Hobhouse

"There is no specific genetic connection between all black people. Many of these pre-existing conditions are non-communicable diseases which are driven by social determinants of health such as poverty, education and housing." @KimJohnsonMP on pre-existing conditions.

"Every baby should be born with an equal start in life" - @AnneMcLaughlin

"If we say the health service is structurally racist. That doesn't mean it's populated by racists. It means the way in which it is structured is for white people and takes into account their needs, culture, language, health trends, etc." - Important point from @AnneMcLaughlin

"Black and Asian women and their partners, regardless of their socio-economic status, are not being listened to, they are not being respected and they are not being cared for” - Labour Shadow Women & Equalities Minister @MarshadeCordova