Breech Babies to be Spotted With Safety Scan

Mums to be in Norfolk are being offered a ‘safety scan’ in order to potentially spot breech babies before they are born.  The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) currently delivers 6000 babies a year, including 150 full term breech babies. The pilot scheme intends to train 190 midwives to use hand-held scanners and interpret the results, in order to provide safer births for women.

The NNUH will have one scanner in every delivery room and two on their antenatal ward and midwife-led birthing unit, thanks to the funding.  Results will be published nationally and internationally.

Practice development midwife Jo Keable said, “We will be scanning all the women arriving during labour and those who come in for induction. When we discover a breech early on it means a woman can speak to an obstetrician and discuss options in relation to their individual needs. Some of them can go on to give birth normally and others may decide to have a caesarean.”

For more information see the RCM report here