25.01.23
A new Act, the Coroners (Amendment) 2019 Act, was passed in full and enacted at the beginning of 2020. This law makes reporting and inquests into all maternal deaths mandatory. It also allows Coroners to go beyond the medical cause of death and investigate the circumstances in which the death took place and to notify the family members of the deceased person of the inquest.
This achievement was possible thanks to the commitment of the movement the “Elephant Collective” – a group of midwives, families, birth activists, such as our member association Irish Maternity Network, lawyers, etc-. The collective has been advocating since 2015 for strengthening the care in maternity services to reduce the numbers of maternal deaths.
It began to work with then TD Clare Daly on gaining mandatory inquests for all maternal deaths in Ireland followed by MEP Frances FitzGerald when she was Minister for Justice, who introduced it as a government bill.
Between 2007 and 2021, thirteen inquests on maternal deaths have been held and they show medical misadventure. Each inquest has given detailed insights into how the services are failing women and their families with tragic consequences. Furthermore, they put into evidence that the burden of injury and death has been borne disproportionately by women of colour.
Unfortunately, this repeats a pattern which holds true across Europe and in the UK: pregnant women of colour are especially vulnerable.
The Coroners (Amendment) Act 2019 represents a victory for women’s and mother’s rights activists and shows how citizens can make a real difference in the fight for reproductive justice, but the fight is not over. Across Europe and the UK, women of color still bear the burden of maternal injury and death at disproportionate rates.
Now the work needs to go further. Open disclosure at all levels of the administrative healthcare and judicial system are required to ensure safer reproductive healthcare for all women. Migration of women of color into the EU will not diminish soon and they have a right to the highest standard of care and safety that can be provided without discrimination. The current system puts these women, and other women in vulnerable situations, at disproportionate risk compared to their peers and it is a social responsibility to ensure that all people have equal access to reproductive care and justice.
The main messages from the Elephant Collective that Make Mothers Matter wants to echo are:
To support our Irish colleagues and families, MMM attended the exhibition “Picking Up the Threads Quilt: Remaking the Fabric of Care”, an art exhibition from the Elephant Collective hosted by MEP Clare Daly MEP, at the European Parliament on 24 January 2023. The exhibition consists of a quilt knitted by hundreds of people across Ireland and abroad portraying the women who lost their lives. It aims to highlight the disproportionate number of maternal injuries and death suffered by women of color and the need for reproductive justice for all.
This exhibition is a reminder that change needs to happen and that citizens can make the difference.
02.07.22
UN New York, HLPF - Join us on July 11th for a discussion on how #SharingTheCare at every level - family, community, governments and private sector - is vital for
26.04.22
We are delighted to be launching our new podcast series An almost Perfect Mother featuring Isabelle Roskam, professor of development and parenting psychology at the University of Louvain, Belgium. Isa
15.05.22
MMM is delighted to publish a report written by Emma Levrau, a student in Global Health and Social Justice (Master of Science) at Kings College London on the unpaid and
25.01.23
A new Act, the Coroners (Amendment) 2019 Act, was passed in full and enacted at the beginning of 2020. This law makes reporting and inquests into all maternal deaths mandatory. It also allows Coroners to go bey
18.12.22
The European Child Guarantee and universal maternal healthcare in Europe: the essential role of maternal health in the first 1000 days of child development
14.12.22
Despite the growing number of families headed by a single parent, single parents remain one of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to poverty, housing and energy deficits, and health challenges.
06.12.22
We are searching for an academic partner for an EU survey on issues concerning mothers to be used as a lever for change.
18.11.22
We need care when we are very young or very old, experiencing sickness or disability and the people who provide this care are indispensable actors in European economies and societies.
30.09.22
MMM is participating in an EU project, SPIOMET4Health, which aims at providing a treatment for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a leading cause of infertility, while raising awareness about the prevalence of t