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Woman's Hour: Inquiry launched into NHS maternity 'systemic racism'

12/02/2021

Inquiry launched into NHS maternity 'systemic racism'

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Inquiry launched into NHS maternity 'systemic racism'

'Systemic racism' in NHS maternity;Marriage bureau; teenage mental health; Thomas Hardy;

Inquiry into 'systemic racism' in NHS maternity; Mary Oliver & her marriage bureau; Supporting teenage mental health; Thomas Hardy's female characters;

An urgent inquiry to investigate how alleged systemic racism in the NHS manifests itself in maternity care was launched this week. Anita is joined by Sandra Igwe, co-chair of the inquiry and who set up The Motherhood Group to support Black mothers after her experiences of giving birth, and Dr Karen Joash, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Imperial College and spokesperson for race equality at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Girls sit at home waiting for 'Mr Right, a nostalgic fantasy invented by their parents. There has to be a better way." The words of Mary Oliver who with her friend Heather Jenner set up the UK's first ever Marriage Bureau in 1939. The book she wrote nearly 80 years ago has just been republished and the story has caught the imagination of Hollywood producers. So who was Mary Oliver and how relevant is her advice today? Film director Richard Kurti who rediscovered Mary Oliver and dating expert Charly Lester discuss.

As many as one in six young people now experience mental health problems ranging from depression to self harm and anorexia. The situation’s got worse over the last year of lockdowns and school closures leading some doctors to warn that the problems we’re seeing now are just the “tip of the iceberg”. Yesterday Emma spoke to the Children’s Minister Vicky Ford about young people facing mental health issues and where they can go for help. We were inundated with emails from concerned parents who have not been able to access the help they need. One mother, Lucy, shares her story with us.

You may be familiar with the novels of Thomas Hardy- he’s known for his realist novels, often with tragic characters struggling against their passions, fate or the circumstances in which they find themselves. Although many feature strong female characters written with real sympathy – Hardy writes them from the point of view of an omniscient, all-seeing narrator. But over the coming year, Radio 4 is dramatizing some of the novels purely through the eyes of the prominent female characters. Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles will be first – this Sunday at 2pm. Later titles include Jude the Obscure, The Woodlanders, The Hand of Ethelberta and Two on a Tower. Katie Hims dramatized Tess of the D’Urbervilles and she joins Anita Rani to talk about writing the story from a female perspective.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Interviewed Guest: Sandra Igwe
Interviewed Guest: Dr Karen Joash
Interviewed Guest: Richard Kurti
Interviewed Guest: Charley Lester
Interviewed Guest: Katie Hims

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Inquiry launched into NHS maternity 'systemic racism'

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