MBRRACE 2026: Persistent challenges in maternal safety

MBRRACE-UK (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK) conducts confidential enquiries into maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidity to identify lessons that can improve care and outcomes.

Findings of the report 

This latest report identifies 252 women who died from direct or indirect causes during pregnancy or within six weeks of pregnancy between 2022 and 2024, representing a maternal mortality rate of 12.8 per 100,000 maternities. This remains around 20% higher than the rate recorded in 2009-11, despite national ambitions to reduce maternal mortality. 

Thromboembolism, cardiac disease and psychiatric illness continue to be leading causes of death. 

As a medical negligence lawyer, it was concerning to see the report also found persistent inequalities.  It states that black women are almost three times more likely to die during or after pregnancy than white women, and women living in the most deprived areas experiencing approximately double the maternal mortality rate of those living in the least deprived areas. 

Maternal mortality is also higher among women aged 35 and over.

Key messaging

A number of recurring themes that should underpin safer maternity care were also identified, as follows:

• Earlier and more proactive care
• Better multidisciplinary working
• Listening to women and families
• Prioritising mental health
• Addressing inequalities

More specifically, the report recommends:

1. Planning ahead for changing needs, particularly by ensuring women with physical and mental health conditions receive pre-pregnancy counselling, that postnatal contraception is available in maternity services for future pregnancy planning and that staffing models and theatre capacity are reviewed to keep up with changing maternity characteristics, including increased rates of caesarean birth.
2. Acting early to avoid delays in management, particularly by ensuring rapid access to antibiotics and medications and assessing and recording women’s vital signs using maternity early warning scores (MEWS) to recognise deterioration and escalate care if needed.

Conclusion

For those working in healthcare and clinical negligence, the findings are unlikely to come as a surprise. The themes identified by MBRRACE-UK mirror those seen repeatedly in maternity litigation - failures to listen to women, delays in escalation, poor multidisciplinary communication and inconsistent management of clinical risk. 

The challenge facing maternity services is no longer identifying where improvements are needed, but ensuring that the lessons from successive reports and inquiries are translated into meaningful and lasting change. 

Find out more on how Irwin Mitchell can help those affected by maternity issues, including during pregnancy and following birth.