Safer together 1 – Introduction to culture, race and bias in midwifery care

Introduction

Successive annual UK MBRRACE reports have identified disproportionate morbidity and mortality rates amongst Black, Asian and ethnically diverse women in the UK, this situation is reflected in many other countries across the world. In response to these ongoing maternal health inequalities, All4Maternity has commissioned a committee of women representative of this beneficiary group to develop this essential course, which promotes understanding of how to improve maternity care for women and families from marginalised ethnic communities. This essential course is solution-focussed and designed to support learners to explore strategies they can use to improve the pregnancy outcomes of Black, Asian and ethnically diverse women and families. This is the first course in the series of two.

Learning aims and objectives

This module will introduce you to key anti-racism concepts and invite you to begin thinking about how they can respond to systemic racism within maternity services. This module will enable you to:

– Recognise where systemic racism may be present within society
– Reflect upon your own biases
– Acknowledge that addressing bias is a proactive, ongoing process

Keywords

Systemic racism, marginalised communities, unconscious bias, conscious bias, self-awareness

Curriculum quality standards

ICM Category 1; General Competencies

Lancet Series; Evidence informed framework for maternal and newborn care; organisation of care