Women experiencing lack of maternity care due to 'racial bias'

A woman whose baby was stillborn has told ITV News Central that racial bias played a big part in her not receiving the right kind of care. 

Nichole Bowen, who has since had two healthy children, says it made the already-painful experience even worse

In the second part of our True Colours: Health series, Rajiv Popat has been speaking to mothers who say they've been discriminated against - simply because of the colour of their skin.

There are women of all backgrounds who've had negatives experiences during pregnancy - but figures from a study about maternity deaths are shocking and shine a spotlight on an issue where  black women are disproportionately affected.

In a statement, the Director of Midwifery at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, which runs the health centre Nichole attended, told us:

"Unfortunately it is very difficult to look into the circumstances of what happened after such a passage of time, however I would like to offer deepest sympathy for Nichole's loss.

"We are proud of our service today and our staff working across maternity services, whose  primary aim is to provide the best care possible for women throughout their pregnancies.

"In particular Our Willow Team was set up last July to provide dedicated one-to-one care for women from the start of their pregnancy through the birth and postnatally, offering support, care and advice. and an opportunity for new mums to meet others and share experiences in a relaxed environment."