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Found 472 results
  1. News Article
    The NHS has significantly reduced the amount of IVF procedures it provides across the UK, leaving infertile women either unable to access treatment or forced to pay for it privately. Barely one in four (27%) of cycles of IVF during 2022 were paid for by the health service – the lowest figure since 2008 and a sharp fall on the 40% which it provided in 2012. The sharp fall in recent years is revealed in the latest annual report by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (Hfea), which regulates fertility treatment in the four home nations. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has told the NHS in England to give all women who qualify three cycles of IVF. However, that rarely happens, with provision being patchy. Dr Kevin McEleny, the chair of the British Fertility Society (BFS), said women are the casualties of a widespread variation in the availability of IVF which is “heartbreaking and so unfair”. “Cost-cutting by NHS funding bodies who should implement the Nice IVF recommendations [means] patients in one part of the country are unable to access NHS-funded fertility treatments that people in a similar situation elsewhere in the country can. “Infertility is recognised as a health problem. Yet many people still see involuntary childlessness as a lifestyle choice, and this attitude reflects why it doesn’t get the NHS funding it deserves,” he added. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 18 July 2024
  2. Content Article
    Knowing about Group B Strep when you’re pregnant or in the early weeks after birth can make a massive difference – most Group B Strep infections in newborn babies can be prevented, and early treatment can and does save lives. Group B Strep Awareness Month focuses on empowering new and expectant parents with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their baby and engaging with healthcare professionals to improve education and awareness.  In this blog, Patient Safety Learning has pulled together six useful resources about Group Strep B shared on the hub.
  3. News Article
    Hackers behind a London hospital attack recently published records that include personal information about pregnant women, newborns, cancer patients, people suffering from schizophrenia and thousands of others across the UK and Ireland, revealing the breach was far more widespread than authorities have previously indicated. An analysis of the data trove by Bloomberg News found that it contains tens of thousands of medical records on patients from more than 400 public and private hospitals and clinics. Among the records are some 40,000 highly sensitive documents sent by doctors requesting biopsies and blood tests for individual patients in all regions of the UK and some hospitals in Ireland. A breach of the kind faced by Synnovis was inevitable, according to Saif Abed, a former NHS doctor and expert in cybersecurity and public health. “The NHS has some of best patient safety and cybersecurity standards in the world,” Abed said. “They are just immensely poorly enforced.” Abed said that there was a lack of mandatory cybersecurity audits on any contractors providing services to the NHS, which meant those contractors could have substandard cybersecurity practices that could in turn leave the NHS vulnerable. Read full story Source: Bloomberg UK, 26 June 2024
  4. Content Article
    Suicide is a leading cause of maternal death during the perinatal period, which includes pregnancy and the year after birth. While maternal suicide is a relatively rare event with a prevalence of 3.84 per 100,000 live births in the UK, the impact of maternal suicide is profound and long-lasting. Many more women will attempt suicide during the perinatal period, with a worldwide estimated prevalence of 680 per 100,000 in pregnancy and 210 per 100,000 in the year after birth. This qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences of women and birthing people who had a perinatal suicide attempt and to understand the context and contributing factors surrounding their perinatal suicide attempt. The researchers spoke to women with lived experience of perinatal mental illness. Their results highlighted three key themes: Trauma and Adversities which captures the traumatic events and life adversities with which participants started their pregnancy journeys. Disillusionment with Motherhood which brings together a range of sub-themes highlighting various challenges related to pregnancy, birth and motherhood resulting in a decline in women’s mental health. Entrapment and Despair which presents a range of factors that lead to a significant deterioration of women’s mental health, marked by feelings of failure, hopelessness and losing control. The authors called for further research into these factors which could lead to earlier detection of suicide risk, improving care and potentially prevent future maternal suicides.
  5. Content Article
    Topiramate is now contraindicated in pregnancy and in women of childbearing potential unless the conditions of a Pregnancy Prevention Programme are fulfilled. This follows a review by the MHRA which concluded that the use of topiramate during pregnancy is associated with significant harm to the unborn child. Harms included a higher risk of congenital malformation, low birth weight and a potential increased risk of intellectual disability, autistic spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children of mothers taking topiramate during pregnancy.
  6. News Article
    Families affected by hormone pregnancy tests have been “recognised as having suffered an injustice” a leading campaigner has said as she was given an award in the King’s Birthday Honours. Marie Lyon, chairwoman of the Association For Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests, has been campaigning for decades for justice for people affected by hormone pregnancy tests, including Primodos. The 77-year-old has been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for “advocating for scientific research and improving patient safety for women”. She said she was accepting the award on behalf of members of the association and that the medal is “recognition of what has happened”. The tests were given to more than a million women from 1958 to 1978, but Ms Lyon said many were never told of the risks and were instructed to take the drug – which is 40 times the strength of an oral contraceptive pill – by their GPs as a way of finding out whether or not they were pregnant. Read full story Source: The Independent, 15 June 2024 Read our Patient Safety Spotlight interview with Marie Lyon
  7. News Article
    A new service in Somerset is being set up to support women who have had adverse outcomes during pregnancy. Maternity and neonatal independent senior advocates (MNISA) say they will act on behalf of women if they feel their experience when being cared for during pregnancy led to something going wrong. This can include death, babies being diagnosed with brain injuries or mothers needing critical care. MNISAs can attend meetings or support users through investigations and complaints. The service will be piloted until next year and while the role is independent from the maternity and neonatal trust provider (Somerset NHS Foundation Trust), it sits within NHS Somerset. Jane Innes, a qualified lawyer who has worked across the NHS for 30 years, will take up the new role in Somerset. She said: "There is an acknowledgement that people's voices need to be heard and listened to so systems can act and respond appropriately." Read full story Source: BBC News, 11 June 2024
  8. Content Article
    Exposure documentary exploring the failures in maternity care at the Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH), and the toll it has taken on those fighting for justice.
  9. News Article
    A landmark study has compared the risk of complications of water births. The results could have implications for thousands of women each year who use birthing pools as a form of pain relief during labour, researchers said. It concluded having a water birth does not increase the risk of complications for mother or baby. The Pool study analysed 73,229 records from low-risk pregnant women who used a pool during labour across 26 NHS organisations in England and Wales between 2015 and 2022. The team explored the rate of severe tears suffered by women during childbirth, as well as the number of babies who needed antibiotics or help with breathing on a neonatal unit after birth. They also looked at the number of babies that died. According to researchers, risks “were no higher among waterbirths compared with births out of water”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 June 2024
  10. News Article
    Three more babies have died from whooping cough this year as cases continue to rise across the country, according to the UK Health Security Agency. Since January, there have been 4,793 confirmed cases of whooping cough, with 181 babies under the age of three months diagnosed with the illness. A total of eight babies have now died from whooping cough this year. Pregnant women have been urged to get the whooping cough vaccine in order for their babies to be protected before they are old enough to receive the vaccine themselves. Babies can first be vaccinated against the disease when eight weeks old, while pregnant women are advised to get the vaccine at 16 and 32 weeks. Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, a consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “Our thoughts and condolences are with those families who have so tragically lost their baby. “With whooping cough case numbers across the country continuing to rise and sadly the further infant deaths in April, we are again reminded how severe the illness can be for very young babies. “Pregnant women should have a whooping cough vaccine in every pregnancy, normally around the time of their mid-pregnancy scan (usually 20 weeks). This passes protection to their baby in the womb so that they are protected from birth in the first months of their life when they are most vulnerable and before they can receive their own vaccines. “The vaccine is crucial for pregnant women, to protect their babies from what can be a devastating illness.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 June 2024
  11. Content Article
    In partnership with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives, The Tommy’s National Centre for Maternity Improvement is working to prevent stillbirths and premature births across the UK. Our current method of assessing risk during pregnancy has remained unchanged since the 1970s, with midwives or doctors using a checklist to classify a woman as either ‘high’ risk or ‘low’ risk. The current system does not measure how high or low this risk is, and so does not allow for more personalised care. As a result, Tommy's National Centre for Maternity Improvement are creating The Tommy’s Pathway – an online medical tool that will help healthcare providers work out which pregnant women are most at risk of giving birth prematurely or of developing pregnancy complications that can lead to stillbirth. The Pathway will use information routinely gathered by midwives and doctors to provide a personalised risk score and treatment recommendations for every pregnant woman, ensuring that every woman receives the best support possible throughout pregnancy. The Pathway will also empower pregnant women to become more engaged in their own care.
  12. Content Article
    This cohort study in JAMA Network Open aimed to determine whether US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warnings to prevent prenatal exposure to valproic acid are associated with changes in pregnancy risk and contraceptive use. The study examined 165 772 valproic acid treatment episodes among 69 390 women and found that pregnancy rates during treatment remained unchanged during the 15-year study, and were more than doubled among users with mood disorder or migraine compared with epilepsy. Contraception use among users was uncommon, with only 22.3% of treatment episodes having a 1-day overlap of valproic acid and contraception use. The authors argue that these findings suggest a need to review efforts to prevent prenatal exposure to valproic acid, especially for clinical indications where risk of use during pregnancy outweighs therapeutic benefit and safer alternatives are available.
  13. Content Article
    On 9 January 2024, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Birth Trauma established the first national inquiry in the UK Parliament to investigate the reasons for birth trauma and to develop policy recommendations to reduce the rate of birth trauma. Seven oral evidence sessions took place on consecutive Mondays between 5 February and 18 March 2024 in the House of Commons. The Inquiry was also informed by written submissions which were received following a public call for evidence. The inquiry received more than 1,300 submissions from people who had experienced traumatic birth, as well as nearly 100 submissions from maternity professionals. It also held seven evidence sessions, in which it heard testimony from both parents and experts, including maternity professionals and academics.
  14. News Article
    NHS staff do not correctly monitor a baby’s heart rate during labour in almost half of cases where serious failings lead to tragedy, a review of maternity care has found. The Care Quality Commission identified that inadequate foetal monitoring occurred in 45 of 92 cases (49%) in which a baby died or suffered serious brain damage while being born in a midwife-led unit in England. The findings show that correct monitoring is “critically important” to ensure care is safe in all maternity units, said Sandy Lewis, the director of the CQC’s maternity and newborn safety investigations (MNSI) programme. It analysed four common failings in the 92 births in a report that is intended to help midwives and doctors improve the quality and safety of care. In one case the investigation team found that “there were likely to have been abnormalities in the baby’s heart rate which were ongoing for a prolonged period of time, which were not identified during intermittent auscultation [monitoring]”. In another, midwives were so busy dealing with a separate emergency on the unit that they failed to monitor the baby at the correct recommended intervals and the woman was left unattended. The 92 incidents involved 62 cases in which the newborn suffered a severe brain injury, 19 in which it was alive at the start of labour but was stillborn and 11 when it died within its first six days of life. Read full story Source: Guardian, 8 May 2024
  15. News Article
    An inquest into the death of a baby boy who died two weeks after birth in a Sussex hospital has found there were missed opportunities in the care of his mother. Orlando Davis was born by emergency caesarian section at Worthing Hospital, part of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, on 10 September 2021 following a normal and low risk pregnancy. He was born with no heartbeat and his parents were told he had suffered an irreversible brain injury after being starved of oxygen - after his mother Robyn Davis experienced seizures during labour, caused by a rare condition that went "completely unrecognised" by staff. Orlando died in Robyn and husband Jonny’s arms on 24 September 2021 at 14 days old due to his catastrophic brain injury. His mother had to be put in an induced coma, but has since recovered. But his parents say his death was avoidable. Today at the inquest into Orlando's death, senior coroner, Ms Penelope Schofield said a lack of understanding of hyponatremia contributed to neglect of Orlando. Mrs Davis had told the inquest: “I can’t explain the sadness, frustration, anger and complete heartbreak I felt and still feel towards the trust for not keeping us safe. Mrs Davis continued: “The thing I cannot process is that I have lost my healthy, full-term son. I feel as if my son was taken from me in a circumstance that, in my personal and professional opinion, was completely preventable. Read full story Source: ITVX, 14 March 2024
  16. News Article
    Women have been told to avoid using weight-loss drugs to help them get pregnant, as doctors report a rise in surprise “Ozempic babies”. Some women struggling with infertility have unexpectedly become pregnant after being prescribed semaglutide, which is used to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic. However, scientists have now issued a warning that the weight-loss injections may cause birth defects and should not be used by anyone hoping to become pregnant. Professor Tricia Tan, from the department of metabolism, digestion and reproduction at Imperial College London, said: “Women need to know that these drugs should not be used during pregnancy. You can also see that most of the clinical trials have not included women who are intending to become pregnant. Animal studies did show that the animal babies born to animals who were given these medications had problems.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 23 April 2024
  17. News Article
    Pre-eclampsia affects between 1% and 5% of pregnant women, but more can be done to inform people about its dangers. While pregnant with her son in 2015, Chipiliro Kalebe-Nyamongo’s pregnancy was generally smooth – until she reached about 33 weeks. She started to develop high blood pressure, and was admitted to hospital to be monitored. It was during this period that Kalebe-Nyamongo became concerned when she didn’t feel her baby’s movements as usual. Read full story Source: Guardian, 8 April 2024
  18. News Article
    Black women are up to six times more likely to experience some of the most serious birth complications during hospital delivery across England than their white counterparts, with the figures being described as “stark” and disheartening”, according to analysis. Black women made up 26% of women who experienced the birth complication pre-eclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension during delivery, despite making up just 5% of all deliveries across England, according to a Guardian analysis of NHS figures for 2022-23. They were six times more likely to experience this pregnancy complication than their white counterparts, who made up 47.2% of these cases despite making up 70% of all deliveries. Read full story Source: Guardian, 8 April 2024
  19. Content Article
    Improving maternity care is a key Government and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) priority. In March 2024, an NIHR Evidence webinar showcased research from their recent Collection, Maternity services: evidence to support improvement.  This summary includes videos of researchers’ presentations and captures some of the points raised in the webinar Q&A. It highlights seven features of safety in the maternity units, kind and compassionate care around the induction of labour, and the role of hospital boards in improving maternity care.
  20. News Article
    The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether to restrict access to mifepristone, a commonly used abortion pill. It is considered the most significant reproductive rights case since the court ended the nationwide right to abortion in June 2022. The Biden administration hopes the court will overturn a decision to limit access to the drug over safety concerns raised by anti-abortion groups. The pill has been legal since 2000. The current legal battle in the top US court began in November 2022 when the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, an umbrella group of anti-abortion doctors and activists, filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. The group claims that mifepristone is unsafe and further alleges that the federal agency unlawfully approved its use in September 2000 to medically terminate pregnancies through seven weeks gestation. Mifepristone is used in combination with another drug - misoprostol - for medical abortions, and it is now the most common way to have an abortion in the US. Medical abortions accounted for 63% of all abortions in 2023, up from 53% in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute. In total, more than five million US women have used mifepristone to terminate their pregnancies. Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 March 2024
  21. Content Article
    Nottingham University Hospitals Trust has produced a leaflet for pregnant people who have experienced vaginal bleeding in later pregnancy. The leaflet aims to give women and families more information about possible causes of bleeding and recommendations that might be made for changes in pregnancy care. The leaflet has been produced in partnership with the parents of baby Quinn Parker, who tragically died in July 2021 after suffering oxygen starvation in the womb.
  22. News Article
    A doctor working at a women’s health clinic in Melbourne has been suspended as a regulator revealed it was aware of concerns about other practitioners there. The facility’s boss claims it is a “witch hunt”. It follows the death of 30-year-old mother Harjit Kaur, who died in January at the Hampton Park Women’s Clinic after what was described as a “minor procedure”. It was later identified as a pregnancy termination. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) has confirmed Dr Rudolph Lopes’ registration had been suspended but did not reveal the reason behind the decision. His registration details show he was reprimanded in 2021 for failing to respond to the regulator’s inquiries. “[The regulator] has received a range of concerns about a number of practitioners associated with the Hampton Park Women’s Clinic,” Ahpra said in a statement. “[The regulator] has established a specialist team to lead a co-ordinated examination of these issues which involve multiple practitioners across a number of professions and across a number of practice locations.” Ahpra chief executive, Martin Fletcher, said he was “gravely concerned by the picture that is emerging.” “We have taken strong action to protect the public while our investigations continue,” Fletcher said. “National boards stand ready to take any further regulatory action needed to keep patients safe. “While the coroner continues to examine the tragic death of a patient, our inquiries are focusing on a wider range of issues that our investigations bring to light.” Read more Source: The Guardian, 15 March 2024
  23. News Article
    NHS England has told integrated care board (ICBs) leaders they must intervene over failures in abortion services in their patches amid “unprecedented demand” for such provision, HSJ has learned. NICE guidance states people should be assessed within a week of requesting an abortion, while procedures should take place within a week of assessment. However, NHSE said in a letter to ICBs today that “significant service pressures” have driven up waiting times for surgical abortions – approximately 13% of procedures – to three weeks or longer. NHSE has told ICBs to work with providers to, by July 2024: Respond to cases of “acute service disruption” and instances where rising waiting times risk limiting access to services; Establish referral pathways and procedures to ensure smooth transfers of care between independent and NHS providers when required; Ensure contracts for 2024-25 are sustainable and follow guidance in the NHS payment scheme; and Commission services in a more managed and collaborative way, including coordination of provision locally to bring waiting times in line with NICE standards. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 12 March 2024
  24. News Article
    Women who freeze their eggs are being misled by some UK clinics about their chances of having a baby, a fertility charity says. The Fertility Network was reacting to BBC analysis that found 41% of clinics offering the service privately could be breaching advertising guidance. The watchdog which sets guidance says clinics "must not give false or misleading information". It comes as a record number of people are freezing their eggs. The UK fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), also said it was concerned about the information given to those considering egg freezing. A successful pregnancy is not guaranteed by the procedure. Egg freezing for non-medical reasons, also known as social egg freezing, is an increasingly popular method for women to preserve their fertility in order to have children at a later date. Read full story Source: BBC News, 13 March 2024
  25. News Article
    Women working for the NHS will be entitled to two weeks’ leave if they have a miscarriage, in a move hailed as a major step to wider recognition of the trauma of baby loss. NHS England has announced that all staff who lose a baby before 24 weeks should receive up to 10 days’ paid leave to help them recover from the distress involved. “Baby loss is an extremely traumatic experience that hundreds of NHS staff experience each year and it is right that they are treated with the utmost care and compassion when going through such an upsetting experience,” said Dr Navina Evans, its chief officer for workforce, training and education. Women will also be able to take further paid time off after a miscarriage for medical examinations, scans or other tests, or to receive mental health support, as well as the two-week grieving period. Rachel Hutchings, a fellow at the Nuffield Trust health thinktank, said its recent research into how parenting and caring responsibilities affect surgeons found that some staff who had a miscarriage did not feel well supported by the NHS. “Although some organisations had already introduced additional support for people who experienced baby loss, it is incredibly welcome that this policy recognises the experiences of these individuals and will ensure a more consistent approach”, said Hutchings. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 March 2024
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