February 17, 2026
Black mothers in the United Kingdom are speaking out about traumatic maternity care experiences as the country works to address its growing maternal health crisis.
Three Black mothers treated at different UK hospitals are speaking out about strikingly similar maternity experiences where their pain was overlooked, their concerns dismissed, and how their race may have been the cause of their mistreatment.
“I was told by the midwife to shut up, and then she put her hand over my mouth,” recalled Tenisha Howell, a mother of five who spoke candidly with Sky News.
One mother, Shakira Akabusi, described the response she received from a nurse after asking whether there were alternatives to morphine following her C-section.
“The nurse got angry,” Akabusi said. “She threw the morphine away, and I was then left alone for hours.”
Kadi Wilson recalled lying alone in her hospital bed recovering from a fourth-degree tear, crying in pain as she said staff showed little compassion, with some allegedly walking past and ignoring her cries.
These stories highlight the stark realities behind persistent disparities in maternity care. Despite federal efforts to address the maternal mortality crisis, which disproportionately affects Black women, they remain twice as likely to die from childbirth-related causes. By sharing their experiences, these mothers are offering a candid look at what it means to navigate pregnancy and birth in a system where race is closely tied to risk.
“I haven’t felt supported, I haven’t felt safe, I haven’t felt like my pain was taken seriously,” Howell, 33, said. “I have a lot of experiences that I can draw from, and it’s sad to say that a lot of them have been quite negative.”
Tenisha described her fifth labor and delivery as “the most traumatic,” recalling agonizing pain as the gas and air wore off, and alleging that one midwife pressured her to stay quiet as she cried out.
“She told me to shut up multiple times, and then she put her hand over my mouth to basically say, ‘be quiet,” Howell shared. “That was very disheartening. It was very sad.”
The accounts are among those highlighted by Dr. Michelle Peter, co-author of the Five X More Black Maternity Experiences Report, which surveyed 1,164 Black and mixed-heritage women in the UK who were pregnant between July 2021 and March 2025. More than half said they faced challenges with healthcare professionals, and nearly a quarter reported being denied pain relief when they asked for it.
“This kind of dismissal of black women’s pain and refusal to provide adequate pain relief when it’s requested is a common experience amongst the black women who have shared their experiences with us,” Dr. Peter said. “This is kind of linked to historical, but also ongoing, racialised assumptions about black people’s tolerance to pain, their vulnerability or their strengths.”
The UK government has launched an independent review of maternity and neonatal services, led by Baroness Amos, which has found that too many women, across all backgrounds, still receive “unacceptable care” resulting in tragic outcomes. The inquiry will examine the role discrimination plays in the experiences of women of color, even as many continue to face these challenges while reforms are being explored.
Baroness Merron, the parliamentary under-secretary for patient safety, women’s health, and mental health, said it is “absolutely unacceptable” that Black and Asian women face a higher risk of dying during childbirth than white women in the UK.
“I very much look forward to implementing what we can from that. I am already taking action in terms of tackling discrimination and racism across the NHS because it can’t wait any longer,” she said.
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