'I'd never felt pain like it': London mum backing calls for better maternity care for Black women

A petition signed by nearly 200,000 people - calling for better maternity care for Black women - is being debated in Parliament today.

It's after a report found Black women in the UK are five times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than white women.

London mum Sharmika developed a serious infection after having her son Riley eight years ago - and has been living with chronic pain since.

She says she didn't feel her concerns were taken seriously - despite fearing for her life.

"I definitely feel like when I was trying to access support I was seen as maybe being dramatic, instead of just somebody who's trying to access support because they've never experienced being in this amount of pain," she says.

She's now set up support group Beyond Strength - "a community dedicated to empowering parents with birth injuries and disabilities."

The group behind the petition, Five X More, is "committed to highlighting and changing Black women's maternal health outcomes in the UK."

"For decades now, Black women have had a higher risk of maternal mortality in the UK and this is completely unacceptable,” says co-founder Tinuke Awe.

Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch said:

“The government takes the issue of maternal mortality very seriously. We have brought the numbers down significantly and want mothers and children of all backgrounds to know we continue to do more. Not just closing the disparity in risk between mothers of different ethnicities, but working together to ultimately end maternal mortality for good.

“Whoever you are and wherever you live, the birth of a child should be a wonderful, momentous time for a mother and her family."

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