A Guardian investigation has revealed systemic racial disparities in how women receive pain relief during childbirth, highlighting an "ethnicity pain gap" where the distress of women of color is frequently minimized or ignored by medical staff.
Julie Hammond, a 35-year-old mother of three from Kent, described her traumatic experience during an emergency caesarean section at 35 weeks.
Despite informing her anaesthetist that she could still feel her abdomen and move her legs after a spinal block, her concerns were dismissed.
"It's difficult to put into words just how traumatic it was," Hammond said.
"I could just feel myself panicking throughout the whole procedure, while also trying to tell myself to calm down."
She recalled being told to relax and not worry, but later discovered from a consultant that her experience was abnormal.
Hammond noted that even healthcare professionals from minority backgrounds can internalize systemic biases about pain.
"My anaesthetist was an ethnic minority, too, so at the time I thought it can't be racism," she said.
"It was only later that I realized, even regardless of your skin colour, you can still internalise systemic racism."
A 2016 study found that false biological beliefs, such as Black people having thicker skin or less sensitive nerve endings, contribute to racial bias in pain perception.
Further research from 2023 shows that standardizing postpartum pain protocols does not eliminate these disparities.
Adewole Adamson, associate professor at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas, noted that awareness has increased but the gap remains slow to close.
Gabriella Sarpong, a 39-year-old public health professional from Ilford, shared a similar experience after a failed epidural during a 16-hour labor in 2023.
She was left in severe pain for 10 hours after being told she had to wait until morning for the issue to be resolved.
"I was expressing that the epidural was not working but I wasn't being taken seriously," Sarpong said.
"I was in horrendous pain … I remember the [anaesthetist] coming in and saying: you're going to have to wait until the morning."
Sarpong, later diagnosed with PTSD, emphasized that Black women face significantly worse outcomes in maternity care.
"I felt ignored and it was honestly the worst thing I've ever experienced," she said.
Chinasa Ezugha, a 35-year-old arts professor from London, gave birth in 2025 and was actively denied an epidural despite requesting one.
Her midwife refused, claiming she was doing well without it, and remained detached during labor.
"I was in a lot of pain, but I felt prepared and had an understanding of what pain medication was available to me," Ezugha said.
"It was so condescending; I was in so much agony. I felt humiliated because I was screaming."
Ezugha has filed an official complaint with the hospital, stressing the need for Black mothers to be treated with dignity.
"As a black mum we're in a vulnerable position because we're dealing with all the stereotypes already," she said.
Fiona Gibb, director of midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives, called any ethnic disparity in pain relief access completely unacceptable.
She emphasized that robust data collection broken down by ethnicity is vital to hold healthcare systems accountable and correct these inequalities.
