08/03/2026
We shouldn’t need a single day to celebrate women.
And we shouldn’t pretend equality has already been achieved.
In the UK right now, the official maternal mortality rate has risen and it’s not equal for all women. Recent data shows that maternal deaths during pregnancy or shortly after birth are about 12.8 for every 100,000 births, and women from Black backgrounds are nearly three times more likely to die compared with white women. Women in the most deprived areas are twice as likely to die as those in the least deprived areas. (npeu.ox.ac.uk)
These numbers aren’t just statistics, they point to systemic failings in how women are listened to, supported and cared for.
International Women’s Day isn’t just about flowers and quotes.
It’s about real progress not platitudes.
As a doula, my role isn’t to speak over women.
It’s to stand beside them.
To ensure they feel informed.
To ensure they feel supported.
To remind them that their voice, their pain, their choices matter.
Not just today.
Every day.
