The University of Southampton is part of a new £50 million programme from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to transform maternal health through pioneering research.
The NIHR Inequalities Challenge: Maternity Disparities Consortium is led by the Universities of Newcastle and Birmingham and unites higher education, NHS, community and voluntary organisations to reduce disparities in maternity outcomes.
The NIHR has committed £50 million over five years to drive forward the vital research led by clinicians, researchers, and communities across the consortium.
It marks the most significant step forward in maternal health research in a generation.
Maternal health inequalities remain one of the most pressing challenges facing the NHS. In the UK, Black women continue to face a substantially higher risk of dying during or after pregnancy than white women. Women and families living in the most deprived communities continue to experience poorer outcomes.
The University of Southampton is leading research into health before and between pregnancies, capitalising on research from the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), with the aim of reducing maternity disparities experienced by minoritised groups.
The programme will work with minoritised communities and care providers to evaluate a practical blueprint to improve care and support before and between pregnancies.
Professor Keith Godfrey , Theme Lead at the University of Southampton and the NIHR Southampton BRC, said: "People who are healthy before they get pregnant have a higher chance of keeping healthy during pregnancy and of having healthier babies.
"Many health problems can be hard to fix once someone is already pregnant, so it's important to provide care and support before and between pregnancies.
"No such system of care and support currently exists in the UK, so this research to develop a national "blueprint" is urgently needed."
The University of Southampton team will be working in partnership with Queen's University Belfast and University College London, and with Hampshire and Isle of Wight and Central East Integrated Care Boards, public contributors and Wessex Health Partners.
Dr Danielle Schoenaker , Emerging Co-lead at the University of Southampton, added: "Developing a national blueprint for care and support before and between pregnancies lays the foundation for healthier mothers, children, and families.
"It can help mums and babies stay well and also builds a kinder, more supportive community where every family can have a better future."
The launch comes at a pivotal moment for maternity care in the UK, with national attention increasingly focused on improving safety, equity and women's experiences of care.
The Government's renewed Women's Health Strategy highlights the need to improve care before and between pregnancies for marginalised communities. Against this backdrop, the consortium will generate the evidence, interventions and research capacity needed to help translate national ambition into practical, equitable improvements for women, babies and families.
"This funding represents a critical opportunity to make the step change we need to improve outcomes for women and their babies," says Professor Judith Rankin OBE, Consortium Co-lead for Research and Capacity Development from Newcastle University.
"Alongside the research, the Consortium will be investing in tomorrow's research leaders today to ensure we have the capacity to deliver on improving pregnancy outcomes, access to, and experience of, care."
Professor Joht Singh Chandan, Consortium Co-lead for Research from the University of Birmingham added: "National attention on maternity safety and equity has never been greater, but ambition must now be matched by evidence and implementation.
"Through this consortium, we will work across the UK to understand what works, for whom and in what contexts, and to ensure that research leads to practical changes in care for the women, babies and families who need them most."
