RECORD numbers of women in Britain are dying during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth, with maternal deaths at their highest levels in 20 years, a report due out this week says. Saving Mother’s Lives, from the Confidential Inquiry into Maternal and Child Health (Cemach), found almost 300 women died in childbirth from 2003-05 due to conditions relating to pregnancy. The Cemach report condemns “the number of healthcare professionals who appeared to fail to identify and manage common medical conditions or potential emergencies outside their immediate area of expertise”, the newspaper reported. An increase in the number of older mothers and obese women as well as communication difficulties linked to an influx of migrant mothers were also thought to be behind an increase in deaths from 261 in 2000-02 to 295 from 2003-05. Health professionals hoped the report would act as a wake-up call for the government, which has been repeatedly warned about a dire shortage of specialists and midwives. read more

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