Each Baby Counts

Each Baby Counts is the RCOG’s national quality improvement programme to reduce the number of babies who die or are left severely disabled as a result of incidents occurring during term labour.

In the UK, each year around 500 babies die or are left with severe brain injury – not because they are born too soon or too small, or have a congenital abnormality, but because something goes wrong during labour. The RCOG does not accept that all of these are unavoidable tragedies, and with the Each Baby Counts project they are committed to reducing this unnecessary suffering and loss of life by 50% by 2020.

Currently, stillbirths, neonatal deaths and brain injuries occurring due to incidents in labour are investigated at a local level. The Each Baby Counts project team will, for the first time, bring together the results of these local investigations to understand the bigger picture and share the lessons learned.

From 2015, the RCOG will begin collecting and analysing data from all UK units to identify lessons learned to improve future care. Recommendations will then be made on how to improve practice at a national level.

Read more about this invaluable project here:

https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/audit-quality-improvement/each-baby-counts/