Delays in NHS Maternity Reforms Linked to Hundreds of Preventable Baby Deaths Each Year
An ongoing failure to improve NHS maternity care is costing the lives of hundreds of babies annually, according to a new analysis.
Since 2018, around 2,500 infant deaths in England could have been avoided if hospitals had successfully reduced rates of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, and maternal fatalities, as promised by the government. These figures highlight how far behind the country has fallen on its 2015 pledge to halve these tragic outcomes.
The findings come from a joint report by baby loss charities Tommy’s and Sands, which is being published on Wednesday. The report evaluates the NHS’s progress on meeting maternity safety goals announced a decade ago.
Dr. Robert Wilson, who leads the joint policy unit at Sands and Tommy’s, said: “If the government had stayed on track with its commitment, hundreds fewer babies would have died every year since 2018.” He likened the loss to “about 100 primary school classrooms of children.”
Despite some improvements, stillbirth and neonatal death rates remain high, a sign, Wilson argued, that the government’s response has been inadequate. “There simply hasn’t been enough action from ministers or policymakers to prevent the ongoing crisis in maternity and neonatal care,” he said. “Too many families continue to face the heartbreak of losing a baby.”
Back in 2015, then-Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt pledged to halve the number of stillbirths and maternal and neonatal deaths from 2010 levels by 2030. That deadline was later moved up to 2025 in response to growing concerns about unsafe and poor-quality care in NHS maternity units.
While the NHS has made progress since the pledge was made, the targets are now unlikely to be met by 2025.
For instance, stillbirths occurred at a rate of 5.1 per 1,000 births in 2010. By 2023, that number had dropped to 3.9—an improvement, but still short of the 2.6 target. According to data from the Office for National Statistics, this shortfall meant that roughly 565 more babies were stillborn in 2023 than if the target had been achieved.
Similarly, neonatal deaths fell from two per 1,000 births in 2010 to 1.4 per 1,000 in 2023. However, that rate still lags behind the goal of one per 1,000 by 2025, suggesting the NHS is off course.
“Despite a general decline since 2010, progress in reducing stillbirths and neonatal deaths has stalled,” the report states.
Clea Harmer, Chief Executive of Sands, stressed that behind the numbers are real families living with unimaginable loss. “These aren’t just statistics—each number represents a baby who was deeply loved and will always be missed.”
The report also points out that efforts to cut preterm births are faltering. The goal is to reduce preterm births to 6% by 2025, but the rate has stayed between 7.3% and 8.1% for the last 13 years, showing minimal improvement.
In response, Tommy’s and Sands are urging the government to set new, more ambitious targets: two stillbirths and 0.5 neonatal deaths per 1,000 births by 2035. They are also calling for full implementation of recommendations from previous investigations into maternity care failures.
Gillian Merron, Minister for Patient Safety, Women’s Health, and Mental Health, acknowledged the seriousness of the issue: “Every stillbirth and neonatal death is a tragedy. Knowing that better care could have prevented many of these losses is unacceptable.”
She noted that while there has been “significant progress,” much more must be done. “Our transformation plan includes training thousands more midwives and continuing to build on the 5.8% increase in the midwifery workforce since we came into office,” she said. Merron also emphasized a new commitment to closing the maternal mortality gap for Black and Asian women, ensuring NHS care becomes more equitable and effective for all mothers.
