Bereaved dad's call to end baby loss inequality

A bereaved father from Nottinghamshire has travelled to Downing Street to call for new targets to reduce racial inequalities in baby loss.

Data released this week by the Office for National Statistics showed the infant mortality rate in 2024 for England and Wales was 3.9 deaths per 1,000 live births but this rose to 5 for babies of Asian ethnicity and 6.8 for babies of black ethnicity.

Raj Chagger, from Nottingham, handed in an open letter signed by 3,300 people at 10 Downing Street on Monday.

The Department for Health said it was "completely unacceptable that black and Asian women face worse outcomes in maternity care" and added it was "taking urgent action" on the issue.

Raj Chagger, 39, and his wife Sharan, 40, lost their seven-month-old son Riaan in November 2020 following complications from birth.

Raj said: "Raising awareness is one thing, but awareness has to lead to action and action has to lead to change.

"It's an awful statistic to hear. How do you go to a parent and say, if [your baby] were from a different ethnicity, [they] might still be here?

"That stat alone should be enough to show people that things need to change."

Baby loss charities Sands and Tommy's have called for national maternity targets to cut stillbirth, neonatal death and preterm birth in England by 2035, to align with the forthcoming NHS England 10-Year Plan and to include goals to tackle inequalities in pregnancy and baby loss.

Research from Sands' Listening Project in 2021 found black babies were twice as likely to be stillborn or die as newborns compared to white babies.

The charity estimated 1,616 lives could have been saved between 2019 and 2023 if death rates for black and Asian babies matched those of white babies.

Sands CEO Clea Harmer said: "We are asking for the inequalities in baby loss not just to be reduced, but to be eliminated by 2035."

Alicia Burnett, founder of Black Baby Loss Awareness Week said: "This must be the moment where awareness turns into action, across government, the NHS, and professional bodies, to end these disparities once and for all.

"This campaign is about saving babies' lives, improving care, and ensuring no family is failed because of systemic inequality."

An interim report into maternity services in England by Baroness Amos found racism and discrimination contributed to inequalities in maternity and neonatal outcomes.

After their loss, the Chagger family set up Riaan Remembers and Sands FC Nottingham, for bereaved dads to meet weekly to play football and remember their lost children.

Alex Elliott, 40, who lost his son Ezra in 2023, said: "These conversations are very important within the black community to show black and mixed-heritage families that they are not overlooked or forgotten and that help is available to them and they can speak up."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We are taking urgent action to address these inequalities including an anti-discrimination programme to support trust leadership, ensuring that all families and staff will experience an environment free from discrimination and racism, and benefit ethnic minority mothers."

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