Deaths in childbirth rise amid struggle with complex cases The research, published in The Lancet, found maternal mortality in London rose from fewer than 10 deaths per 100,000 maternities in 2005/2006 to 20 deaths per 100,000 in 2010/2011. The figures compare with an average in the UK outside London of 8.6 fatalities per 100,000 maternities, the report said. There were 31 maternal deaths in London in 2010-11, with the total reducing to 22 in 2011-12 - still well above the average in the rest of the UK. NHS London said staff were working hard to reduce the number of deaths further. Researchers Dr Susan Bewley, consultant obstetricican, from Guy's and St Thomas' foundation trust and Angela Helleur, supervising officer for London midwives, called for "urgent attention" to be paid to the capital's spiralling death rates in maternity. While stressing that the overall figures on maternal mortality remain low in the UK, and subject to fluctuations, Dr Bewley said they required detailed analysis. She said: "These are bald figures, there is a lot about them that we don't know. We do know that women are becoming pregnant when they are older and fatter, and have more complex health issues. "It could be that hospitals in London are actually coping surprisingly well against greater odds, or it could mean there are problems with the services," she said. The Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE) a national body which analyses data on maternal deaths has had its work suspended for just over a year, amid a reorganisation of NHS services. Dr Bewley called on the Government to quickly make a decision about the future of the work, to ensure such data is examined. Dr Tony Falconer, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said services needed "significant change" to cope with the pressures on them. He said units led by doctors should be centralised, so there were enough skills to cope with high risk cases, while more midwife-led centres should be opened to look after cases which were more straightforward. An NHS investigation into maternal deaths in London found that 26 of 34 deaths in 18 months involved "avoidable factors" - meaning that if the cases had been managed differently, some of the lives might have been saved. In 16 cases, the deaths occcured after consultants failed to supervise junior doctors, or when the trainee medics did not recognise "the limits of their abilities" the damning report says. In total, 42 women died during childbirth, pregnancy, or in the aftermath of miscarriage or abortion in London between January 2009 and June 2010, the report by NHS London found. Seventeen of the deaths were classed as a direct result of pregnancy, with 21 were an indirect result, such as pregnancy aggravating an underlying medical condition. Two were coincidental, and not related to the pregnancy. In the past year, healthcare regulators have issued a series of damning reports about Queens Hospital in Romford, in the London Borough of Havering, over the deaths of mothers and babies. Sareena Ali, 27, from Ilford, Essex, died in January last year after staff failed to failed to notice she had suffered a ruptured womb that triggered a cardiac arrest and then later tried to revive her using a disconnected oxygen mask. Her daughter Zainab was born lifeless. Mrs Ali's husband said she was in "unbearable pain" and his pleas for help were ignored by "uncaring, incompetent" midwives. Three months later Violet Stephens, 35, from Brentwood, Essex, died after midwives failed to spot she was suffering from pre-eclampsia, which leads to abnormally high blood pressure. She waited four days to have an emergency caesarean and then died hours later. Her baby son Christian was delivered healthy and is now being brought up by her sister Last year, a report from CMACE revealed that 261 women in Britain died from conditions directly or indirectly related to pregnancy for the three years from 2006 to 2008. Some 107 mothers died of conditions directly related to pregnancy while 154 died of indirect causes, including infections and underlying health problems. The report said women had died after doctors failed to properly investigate and treat conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes and asthma. Trish Morris-Thompson, Chief Nurse at NHS London, said: "The majority of births in London are healthy and happy occasions, but having a baby can be a difficult process. One in five babies born in England is born in the capital, she said. London also treats more women with complex health needs and more women from black and minority ethnic backgrounds that are traditionally harder to reach and often access services later in their pregnancy. "This is a challenge and we are working hard to engage with women in our communities and make sure women get the care and support they expect during pregnancy," Ms Morris-Thompson added.