About the campaign
#EndInequalityInBabyLoss is Sands' campaign to end the deep and persistent racial inequalities in pregnancy and baby loss across the UK. Black babies are more than twice as likely to be stillborn than white babies, and Asian babies almost 50% more likely - inequalities rooted not in biology, but in systemic racism within maternity and neonatal care.
We are calling on the Government, the NHS and professional bodies to take urgent action so that every family, whatever their background, gets the safe and compassionate care they deserve.
The Government has responded to our #EndInequalityInBabyLoss open letter
On 20 August 2026, we received a formal response to our #EndInequalityInBabyLoss open letter, handed in to Number 10 in May from Baroness Merron, Minister for Maternity on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. The letter, written by bereaved parents and signed by more than 3,300 people, called for new targets to eliminate inequalities in baby loss and action to save Black and Asian babies.
It is unacceptable that there are stark inequalities in healthcare for women and babies. It is a priority for the Government to ensure all women and babies receive the high-quality care they deserve, regardless of their background, location or ethnicity.
— Baroness Merron, Minister for Maternity
The reply from Baroness Merron, outlines step the Government is taking to tackle racism and discrimination in maternity and neonatal care in England, including:
- The introduction of a Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner
- A single national action plan to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care by the end of the year
- New national maternity triage standards to be rolled out nationally.
- Investing £41 million to improve maternity and neonatal safety
- A new inequalities dashboard, so NHS trusts can track disparities in real time
- Rollout of the Perinatal Equity and Anti-Discrimination Programme to all trusts by the end of 2026
- A commitment to setting explicit targets to close the maternal mortality gap
While this is progress, it is not enough. We welcome the commitment from the Government to close the maternal mortality gap (which they first made in their 2024 election manifesto), but our letter called for targets to reduce the mortality gap for Black and Asian babies as well.
We welcome Baroness Merron's response and her engagement with the experiences of Vaishali, Bhavna, Vijay, Amber and Darren. However, whilst the commitments to the role of Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner, the Perinatal Equity Programme, and to the additional funding are also welcome, they are not sufficient. In order to eliminate inequalities in stillbirth and neonatal death rates for Black, Asian and disadvantaged families, the Government must introduce explicit targets to end preventable baby deaths.
— Dr Clea Harmer, Chief Executive, Sands