NHS Care Bundle Launched to Save Babies Lives

Today NHS England publish their “Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle” to reduce stillbirth in the UK.

Sadly the UK currently has one of the worst stillbirth rates in the developed world with over 5700 babies dying during late pregnancy or shortly after birth. The new guidelines are part of a drive to halve the rate of stillbirths by 2030, preventing the heartache of stillbirth for more than 1500 families every year.

Stillbirth rates vary considerably across the country therefore the NHS care bundle recommends four main elements of care to aid consistency of best practise. These are:

Reduce Smoking – all women to be offered a test to establish carbon monoxide levels and to be referred to support to quit smoking. This will ensure smokers are fully aware of the risks so they can make an informed decision about quitting.

Detect growth restriction – fetal growth should be monitored and recorded on growth charts with an algorithm to indicate the level of monitoring required.

Improve awareness of babies movements – mothers to be empowered with clear, concise information on how to monitor their babies movements with an advice leaflet given. Protocols should also be in place to manage care effectively when reduced movements are reported.

Fetal monitoring during labour – annual training and assessment for staff on CTG interpretation and monitoring a baby’s heartbeat during labour. There should also be a buddy system so “fresh eyes” can detect any potential problems.

This care bundle was developed by NHS England, alongside other organisations such as The Royal College of Midwives, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society and Sands. Stakeholders including the pregnancy charity, MAMA Academy, were also involved.

Heidi Eldridge, CEO of MAMA Academy said “We were involved in the creation of the movements leaflet for women and we wanted to ensure that mothers no longer believed the myth that babies movements slow down towards the end of pregnancy. We wanted to empower women to recognise when their baby’s pattern had changed and give them the confidence to tell their maternity team. It’s also vital that trusts listen to women and offer them the right assessments before reassuring her that all is well.”

Visit our page on babies movements for more information.

MAMA Academy welcomes the launch of the NHS care bundle especially it’s recommendations on monitoring fetal growth. Growth restriction is the single largest risk factor for stillbirth therefore early detection is crucial. The Perinatal Institute’s GAP programme is a great way of monitoring fetal growth, it’s cost effective and has already produced astonishing results. As a charity, we are encouraging all UK trusts to implement GAP in an attempt to save 1000 babies lives. Visit our Made to Measure page for details.

MAMA Academy believes this care bundle has the potential to save babies lives and we sincerely hope all trusts implement all the elements so that consistent safe maternity care can be given to all mothers and their babies no matter where abouts in the UK they live.

Read the full Saving Babies Lives guidelines.