A new study this week, reported exclusively by the Guardian, found that Black and Asian women in the UK are significantly less likely to get the pain relief they need during childbirth than white women. The findings, based on data from 2.7 million UK births: 🔹 During vaginal births, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Black Caribbean women were 24%, 15% and 8% less likely (respectively) to receive an epidural than white women — meaning their pain is more likely to go undertreated in labour. 🔹 During elective (planned) C-sections, regional anaesthesia — where the mother stays awake - is the safer, faster-recovery option, and general anaesthesia is normally reserved for emergencies. Black Caribbean-British women were 58% more likely, and Black African-British women 35% more likely, to be given general anaesthesia instead, even when there was no emergency. This isn't about medical need - it's what health experts are calling an "ethnicity pain gap," and four medical royal colleges are now c...