Improving maternity services for women from ethnic minorities

Abstract

In June this year the Commission for Racial Equality launched its Race Relations Code of Practice in Maternity Services (1994). Herman Ouseley, the chairman, introducing the Code of Practice, commented: ‘These services need to be accessible to all, appropriate to their needs and sensitively delivered’. This view very much reflects the principles enshrined in Changing Childbirth (Department of Health, 1993), which emphasised the importance of ensuring that the needs and views of women from minority groups are properly reflected in the services provided.