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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Tobi Thomas Health and inequalities correspondent

Women from minority backgrounds in UK less likely to receive epidurals, research finds

Guardian graphic
The Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy said: ‘The disparities around pain relief identified in this report are shocking and indefensible’. Illustration: Guardian Design/Anaïs Mims/The Guardian

Women from black and Asian backgrounds are less likely than their white counterparts to receive an epidural while giving birth, research has revealed.

The findings, based on data collected from more than 2.7 million births in the UK, prompted experts to raise the alarm about an “ethnicity pain gap” that means people of colour are more likely to be deprived of adequate pain relief within medical settings.

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