MORE needs to be done to find out why black women are five times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth, a panel of MPs heard today.

Labour’s Harriet Harman, chairwoman of the joint human rights committee, noted that seven in 100,000 pregnant or new mums who are white die every year, while the figure is 38 in 100,000 for black women – more than five times higher.

Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, chief midwifery officer of NHS England and NHS Improvement, confirmed that, although general  mortality rates of pregnant women are falling, there is an inequality for BAME and socio-economically disadvantaged women.