<
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jul/02/women-from-minority-backgrounds-in-uk-less-likely-to-receive-epidurals-research-finds>
"Women from black and Asian backgrounds are less likely than their white
counterparts to receive an epidural while giving birth, research has revealed.
The findings, based on data collected from more than 2.7 million births in the
UK, prompted experts to raise the alarm about an “ethnicity pain gap” that
means people of colour are more likely to be deprived of adequate pain relief
within medical settings.
It comes as
Guardian analysis exposes evidence of racial inequalities in pain
relief offered to people across all areas of healthcare – from children in A&E
to palliative care offered to cancer patients.
Four medical royal colleges – the professional bodies for UK medical
professions – called for better data collection on how patients from minority
ethnic backgrounds are more likely to have their pain dismissed by health
providers.
The analysis on pain relief provided to women giving birth, published in the
journal Anaesthesia, examined data collected over a 10-year period up until
2021.
It found that women from a Bangladeshi, Pakistani and black Caribbean
background were less likely than white women to receive an epidural while
having a vaginal birth. They were 24%, 15% and 8% less likely respectively.
It follows a report this week by the Labour peer and former diplomat Valerie
Amos into maternity care in the UK, which detailed widespread failings,
including women being ignored and poor triage of mothers-to-be. Her 181-page
report found these were partly the result of deeper, more systemic issues such
as institutional racism.
The research follows a string of reports in other countries, including the US
and Australia, detailing examples of racism in the treatment and handling of
patients."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
