Maternal Deaths Are At The Highest They Have Been In The Last 20 Years!

Last week, my team and I attended the Women’s Health Conference in London. It was a jam-packed three-day event, kicking off with a day for founders and then two days of keynote speakers. We listened to investors, experts and innovators in the women’s health space. It was refreshing to see so many people in one room sharing the same passion for driving better women’s health outcomes.

Last week’s women’s health conference was a sobering reminder that this isn’t about markets- it’s about lives and livelihoods. In the UK, maternal deaths have climbed to their highest level in twenty years, and up to one in five women experience a mental health problem during pregnancy or in the year after birth. These are not isolated “women’s issues”; they ripple across families, workplaces and the wider economy. We see it clearly in the motherhood penalty; within five years of a first child, the average UK mother loses around £65,000 in earnings, and many struggle to sustain a full-time career.

The good news is that when we invest in women's health, especially maternal health, we create outsized value for everyone: healthier mums and babies, more stable families, stronger teams, and a more productive economy. Closing the women’s health gap is estimated to unlock nearly a trillion dollars in the global GDP annually. But I don’t lead with that number because we should care only when there's a financial return; I share it to underline a simple truth I felt all week- When we prioritise maternal health with compassion and evidence, we save lives and we build a fairer, more prosperous future for us all.

Women’s Health Conference reflection 📰

At the end of Day 1, Dame Lesley Regan’s keynote hit home for me: she spoke of building an “imaginary door” through which innovators, developers and practitioners can navigate the labyrinth of NHS and government red tape, so new treatments, tests and technologies reach women faster. As a nurse who knows first-hand how entrenched bureaucracy can stall meaningful change, I felt a surge of hope, but also a reminder of how long the journey still is. “Women have been let down” by successive governments, she said, “we’ve got so complacent about women’s health that we’ve really let girls and women down.” The Times+2LinkedIn+2

I’ve long believed that the moment a woman sees that positive, or negative, pregnancy test, we should be pivot-pointing; with personalised, preventative healthcare, pre-conception and throughout pregnancy, not simply ticking the 6-week-check box and hoping for the best. Because what I witnessed in my own clinical work, and what many mothers tell me (and what I explored on TikTok) is that the 6-week check is too little, too late, often bundled with baby vaccination, meaning the mother’s needs get missed. If we re-imagine these pathways and intervene earlier, we not only save lives, but we reduce the burden on families, workplaces and the healthcare system.

Dame Regan’s promise of a “bright yellow front door” to stream-line access to innovation is exactly the kind of infrastructure we need, but infrastructure without urgency is still inertia. We must act now, for every woman, every family, every future.

🦋 Closing the gaps: From fragmentation to Continuity of Care

One of the greatest challenges in maternal health today is fragmentation. Our systems remain disjointed, with data, care, and communication sitting in silos. How can we truly support a mother postnatally if we don’t know what happened prenatally? Too often, vital information about her physical and emotional well-being is lost between appointments, departments, or transitions of care.

To change this, we need to start much earlier- at preconception. Collecting biometrics and health information at this stage allows us to identify risk factors, personalise care, and deliver timely interventions. Whether it’s blood pressure trends, sleep quality, stress levels, or emotional markers, these insights should inform every step of her journey. Preventative care isn’t just about early screening; it’s about providing the right support, at the right time, before it’s too late, and putting that support in the palm of every mother’s hand.

Both the NHS Long Term Plan and The Lancet Maternal Health Series highlight this need for continuity and prevention. The NHS calls for “digitally-enabled care” and personalised pathways to reduce inequalities and improve outcomes. The Lancet goes further, describing maternal health systems as “too reactive, too fragmented, and too late,” urging a redesign that focuses on integration, equity, and early intervention.

This is exactly what we are building with Matresa, a connected ecosystem that supports women from preconception through postpartum to the first 4 years of the baby’s life. Integrating seamlessly with existing maternal health pathways to ensure every mother receives preventative care at the right time when she needs it most.

Our fundraise officially opens on 3rd November, and we’re proud to already have a lead investor committed. If you believe in creating a future where equitable, preventative maternal healthcare is the norm, not the exception, I’d love to speak with you.

👉 Book a call with me here and join us as we build something truly special and impactful.

Finally, our community is walking 10km on Sunday, 26th October to raise money for Baby Loss Awareness Week, if you would like to donate and/or get involved, visit the link here

The data tells one story. The mothers tell another. It’s time policy, technology and compassion finally align to change both. ⭐

Mari-Carmen

Founder of Matresa- Building equitable, preventive maternal healthcare for all.