Launching a New Project: Enhancing Maternity Care for Women of Colour when using London Ambulance services and NHS 111

We’re excited to announce a new partnership with the London Ambulance Service (LAS) NHS Trust. This initiative aims to gather insights from women who have used LAS or NHS 111 services during pregnancy or the first 12 months postpartum. By focusing on the experiences of Black, Asian, and mixed-ethnicity women, the project seeks to identify ways to reduce health inequalities and improve maternity care services. Disparities in maternity care have been widely documented.[i]

Why This Matters

Women from ethnic minority backgrounds face significant challenges in maternity care, with research showing that Black women are four times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than white women, and Asian women are at twice the risk. [ii] LAS, which handles over 1 million incidents annually, serves a highly diverse population, but barriers such as communication challenges and cultural misunderstandings continue to impact the quality of care. A further study revealed that differences in pregnancy outcomes among ethnic groups were particularly pronounced in Black and South Asian women facing the most severe socio-economic challenges. This finding suggests that societal and cultural influences play a crucial role in determining unfavourable pregnancy results.[iii]

Get Involved

If you’ve been pregnant or given birth in the past three years and used or considered using LAS or NHS 111 services, we want to hear your thoughts. Your feedback will help make services more inclusive and culturally sensitive. Even if you haven’t used these services, your views on what emergency maternity care should look like are valuable too. Take our anonymous survey to share your experiences and suggestions for improvement. Your participation will directly influence changes in policy and help create a more equitable healthcare system for all. Together, we can make maternity care better for everyone.