Save The Children Report Raises Concerns Regarding Quality Of Support Available

Specialist medical negligence lawyers have urged the NHS and private healthcare providers to act quickly to examine and improve maternity services after new research ranked the UK as the 24th best place in the world to give birth.

The State of the World’s Mothers report by Save the Children placed the UK at 24th, which marked an improvement from last year’s position of 26th but still saw the country behind the likes of Poland, Austria and Belarus.

According to the research, one in 6,900 women in the UK face a lifetime risk of maternal death.

It was also revealed that the UK has a child mortality rate of 4.6 per 1,000 births, higher than countries including Iceland and Luxembourg.

Jasmine Whitbread, Save the Children International's chief executive, said: "We urgently need to close the gap in life chances for mothers and children so that - no matter where they live - everyone has a fair chance to survive and fulfil their potential.”

Expert Opinion

"It is very worrying to see the UK lagging behind a number of countries when it comes to the issue of protecting both mothers and their children from the potential risks which can arise around childbirth. <br/> <br/>"Our work means we have heard devastating first-hand accounts from families affected by such losses, often as a result of care failings or errors in treatment which could have been avoided. <br/> <br/>"It is clear there remains much work to be done to improve the UK’s position in this research and we would urge the incoming Government to work with the NHS and other healthcare providers to examine what steps can be taken to reduce risks and improve patient outcomes. <br/> <br/>"All mothers and children should have access to the highest standards of care regardless of where they are from, so lessons have to be learned to boost safety across the board." Auriana Griffiths - Partner