They cover five areas of clinical care associated with the leading causes of maternal deaths, as identified by MBRRACE-UK reports. 

Kate Brintworth, chief midwifery officer for England, said: ‘By setting out these clinical standards and holding hospitals to account we can significantly reduce avoidable deaths and prevent future tragedies.'

Full roll out of the measures by March 2027 is expected to reduce the number of deaths caused by blood clots, strokes, cardiac disease, suicide, sepsis, obstetric haemorrhage and pre-eclampsia, which account for 52% of maternal deaths. 

Progress against each clinical standard must be presented to NHS trust boards with escalation to regional and national level if local delivery does not meet expected plans. 

Though maternal mortality in England is rare, the majority of maternal deaths are caused by medical conditions that pre-date or develop during pregnancy – such as blood clots and strokes (17%) and cardiac disease (15%) – that can be missed or misattributed to pregnancy. 

The latest official data found there were 252 maternal deaths from 2022 to 2024, compared with 257 between 2021-2023. 

Of all women who died during or after pregnancy in 2021-23 research shows improvements in care may have made a difference to the outcome for almost half (45%). 

The new best practice standards form part of the NHS's maternal care bundle, developed with frontline clinicians, women and families, and partner organisations including Royal Colleges, regulatory bodies, professional societies and charities. 

As part of the measures, facilities within maternity services will be upgraded with direct telephone lines to maternity staff to help ambulance crews transfer pregnant women to labour wards quickly and implement new monitoring for pregnant women so any deterioration can be acted on quickly. Up to £5m has been allocated to NHS trusts this year to buy equipment and implement the maternal care bundle. 

This announcement comes on the back of the roll out of a new national signal system to stop and spot emerging safety concerns in maternity wards. 

The NHS is committing to publishing the findings from MOSS every six months, to ensure steps are taking to reduce safety concerns in trusts which flag them up. 

The new clinical standards strengthen the role of 17 Maternal Medicine Centres – centres of excellence established by the NHS across England – to help women with pre-existing medical conditions, or conditions that arise during pregnancy to quickly get the extra care they might need.