“More women are dying as a result of maternity failings than at any time in the past 15 years” – a deeply concerning tagline in this day in age.

Nevertheless, that is the tagline of a recent article in The Telegraph, following the publication of the Maternal, Newborn and Infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme’s report, published in September 2026. The report has brought to light shocking figures on maternity deaths in the UK. Perhaps more troubling, is the finding that six in 10 women who died might have been saved with better maternity care.

The figures have renewed questions about maternity safety, the recognition of serious complications and whether opportunities to intervene are sometimes being missed. For families who have experienced the devastating loss of a mother during pregnancy or childbirth, these figures may also raise difficult questions about the care they received.

Maternity deaths in the UK

Although statistically classed as rare in England, maternal deaths can occur during pregnancy, childbirth or in the immediate postnatal period. They can have a wide range of causes, including medical conditions that develop during pregnancy, or existing health conditions that become more serious as a result of pregnancy.

Not every maternal death is preventable, and a poor outcome does not automatically mean that medical negligence has occurred. However, reviewing maternal deaths can identify cases where different care might potentially have changed the outcome.

Reviews such as those undertaken by MBRRACE-UK examine the circumstances surrounding maternal death and consider whether improvements in care could potentially have made a difference. This can include looking at issues such as:

• whether symptoms were recognised promptly;
• whether appropriate investigations were carried out;
• whether concerns were escalated appropriately;
• whether senior medical advice was sought;
• whether there were delays in diagnosis or treatment;
• whether healthcare professionals communicated effectively; and
• whether the woman and her family were listened to.

MBRRACE-UK is a national programme investigating maternal deaths and is led by researchers at the University of Oxford. Their latest findings recorded 252 women who died from direct or indirect causes during pregnancy, childbirth or within 42 days of giving birth between 2022 and 2024.

108 maternal deaths were considered “potentially preventable”

In some cases, women were dying from treatable complications, including severe bleeding, blood clots and pre-eclampsia, with warning signs sometimes missed and mothers failing to get the right treatment quickly enough.

Failures also included delays in accessing caesarean sections, scans or antibiotics, women waiting too long in maternity assessment units and difficulties receiving specialist care when their condition deteriorated.

Thrombosis and thromboembolism remained the leading cause of maternal death in the UK in 2022-24. Cardiac disease was the second most common cause of maternal death, followed by psychiatric causes.

Learning from maternity deaths

The latest statistics on maternal deaths, follow on from a succession of scandals surrounding maternity care in recent years, and three months after Donna Ockenden published her findings into the Nottingham University Hospital’s maternity services. Similarly dreadful statistics were published, with the independent review considering 12 cases of maternal death at the Trust, and concluding that none of the mothers had received care in line with best practice at the time. In three-quarters of the cases, significant or major concern in the care the mother received was identified.

Every maternal death is devastating. Behind every loss is a heartbroken family and a child left without a mother. Whilst nothing can undo the harm caused, understanding what happened is particularly important to prevent more families suffering the same fate.

The purpose of reviewing maternity deaths should not simply be to identify individual mistakes. It should also be used to identify wider problems and ensure that lessons are actually acted upon. The latest figures provide a stark reminder that maternity safety remains an ongoing issue. Reducing preventable deaths requires effective systems, appropriate staffing, good communication and, crucially, a culture in which concerns are heard and acted upon.

Maternal deaths greater than 15 years ago

In 2015, Jermey Hunt, the then health secretary, pledged to halve maternal deaths by 2030, later bringing the deadline forward to 2025. The recent MBRRACE-UK figures highlight that rather than achieving this, deaths directly caused by pregnancy and birth complications are now 57 per cent higher than in 2010. Further, the overall maternal death rate, including deaths from conditions such as heart disease and epilepsy, now stands at 12.8 per 100,000 women giving birth – more than twice the target set a decade ago.

One might be forgiven for not having much faith that things are improving.

The challenge now is to ensure that latest data does not simply become another statistic, informing an ever-growing list of well-intentioned policy change that fails to deliver lasting improvement.

Seeking support

For families affected by maternity complications and maternal death, the statistics are about much more than numbers. They represent real women, children and families whose lives have been changed forever, and understanding what happened is an important part of seeking answers, accountability and future prevention.