Three partners in Wessex selected for national maternity project

Southampton-led collaboration

The Southampton-led collaboration will work with consortium partners to develop a ‘whole maternity’ journey for women and their partners, from preconception through post-delivery. The University of Southampton has leading academics in this area, having co-founded the UK Preconception Partnership in 2018. Whilst NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB brings extensive experience in co-developing and delivering preconception and interconception care in areas with high levels of ethnicity-associated and coastal disparities.

Bournemouth University's midwifery-led partnership 

Bournemouth University joins an ambitious north-south consortium led by Sheffield Hallam University. This strong midwifery-led partnership aims to reduce health inequalities for marginalised mothers and babies by establishing the Maternal and Infant Health Equity Research Centre (MIHERC). The centre will focus on women from migrant, ethnic minority and deprived communities and will then expand to other marginalised groups such as mothers with disability. 

NIHR Funding

These new collaborations become part of The NIHR Challenge: Maternity Disparities consortium announced by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). All nine partnerships will be supported by £50 million over five years.

Christine McGrath, Managing Director of Wessex Health Partners, said: “Taking action to address maternal disparities is both important and urgent. Achieving the health gains families deserve requires collaboration to advance our understanding and co-designing effective evidence-based interventions. We are pleased to be able to support this vital work as part of the wider consortium.”

Desi Baramova, Programme Manager at Wessex Health Partners, is working in the new Southampton-led collaboration as Project Manager. She said: “My role involves supporting the four organisations that form the collaboration and fostering relationships with the remaining consortium partners. As a Mum, improving maternity disparities is something that is very dear to my heart.”

Bournemouth's Vanora Hundley, Professor of Midwifery at the Centre for Midwifery and Women's Health, said: "Ours will be a strong midwifery-led collaboration working to improve maternity care for the most marginalised women and families. Our approach brings together digital, social science and midwifery expertise to generate new insights and solutions to the disparities in maternal and newborn outcomes."

The urgent need to address maternal disparities

The risk of dying from pregnancy or childbirth in the UK is higher today than it was before 2000. An important part of this increase arises from a rise in mental and physical health challenges faced by women and their partners before pregnancy. These have a disproportionate impact on women from minority backgrounds and those living in less advantaged areas.

Recent research suggests black women in the UK are almost three times more likely to die during pregnancy or up to six weeks after pregnancy compared to white women. Asian women are twice as likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after, compared to white women.

By integrating preconception and interconception health into public health strategies on nutrition, obesity, smoking, and alcohol use, and addressing broader determinants of healthcare access, such as poverty and racism, the collaboration aims to create a more equitable care system that addresses the needs of all women and ensures healthier outcomes for future generations.

The Southampton-led collaboration is headed up by Professor Keith Godfrey, Professor of Epidemiology and Human Development at the University of Southampton and theme lead of the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre.

Prof Godfrey said: “People who are healthier before they get pregnant have better outcomes for themselves and their babies. It is often too late to fix health problems once a woman is already pregnant. This means we need to focus on improving health before pregnancy (preconception) and between pregnancies (interconception). I am delighted Southampton will lead a collaboration in this important NIHR Challenge, and look forward to continuing our impactful work with these partners.”

Margaret Beattie, Associate Director of Maternity and Early Years at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said: “We are excited to be part of this collaboration as it is a great opportunity for us to understand more about the disparities within maternity services and the care that our patients receive. We want to ensure that all pregnant people in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have access to the same services and that we can work together in partnership to improve maternal health outcomes across the country.”