Birth brain injury study

THE maternity safety minister last Sunday (4) announced more than £2 million funding for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) to lead the first phase of the collaboration into Avoiding Brain injuries in Childbirth (ABC).

Funds will be used to survey maternity staff and parents and test out best practices for monitoring and responding to a baby’s wellbeing during labour, and in managing complications with a baby’s positioning during caesarean section to reduce brain injuries.

Nadine Dorries, the maternity safety minister, said, “This new programme aims to spot warning signs earlier and save lives, preventing families and their babies from facing the horrific ordeal of a lifechanging brain injury. It will help us deliver on our ambition to halve brain injuries during birth by 2025.

“Having the right maternity staff in the right place at the right time means they can learn from one another, give the best care for mums and babies and build a safe and positive environment for both staff and pregnant women in maternity teams across the country.”

The government’s maternity safety ambition is to halve the 2010 rates of stillbirth, neonatal and maternal death and brain injuries that occur during or soon after birth by 2025.

The brain injury rate has fallen to 4.2 per 1,000 live births in 2019, after rising from 4.2 to 4.7 per 1,000 live births between 2012 and 2014.