Midwifery training pilot seeking to reduce brain injuries at birth
New training is being provided to maternity staff across nine NHS sites in England as part of a pilot focused on reducing avoidable brain injuries in babies during birth.
The Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) pilot has been announced by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) this week.
Split into two groups, staff at six maternity units will receive new training on what to do in the event a baby’s head becomes lodged in the mother’s pelvis during a caesarean birth – an obstetric emergency known as an impacted fetal head.
Meanwhile, maternity workers at different three units will be supported to better detect and respond to signs that a baby may be in distress during labour, referred to clinically as fetal deterioration.
If successful, the programme could be rolled out nationally next year.
The work is being led by an ABC consortium, which consists of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists (RCOG), Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute and has been backed by £7.8m from the DHSC.
Dr Ranee Thakar, president of the RCOG, said: “The ABC programme will help maternity teams to improve safety by giving them the tools, resources and training they need to respond effectively when a baby might be deteriorating during labour and to handle a major obstetric emergency.
“Including support for teamwork and culture, ABC makes best practice easier and puts those in labour and their birth partners at the centre of their care.”
Separately, the first babies have started to have their whole genome sequenced as part of a new study by Genomics England and NHS England.
Through a blood test usually taken from their umbilical cord shortly after birth, babies are being screened for more than 200 rare genetic conditions.
The hope is that by diagnosing genetic conditions from birth, families and babies can get the care and support they need earlier.
The Generation Study is aiming to screen up to 100,000 newborns in England across 40 hospitals, and nurses and midwives will be involved in seeking consent from families.
Dr Rich Scott, chief executive at Genomics England, which is owned by the DHSC, said: “The launch of the Generation Study is a pivotal moment as we look to develop evidence on whether genomic newborn screening should be offered to all children – to do more for the thousands of children born every year in the UK with a treatable genetic condition.
“Children with these conditions often go years without receiving a diagnosis. Cutting this time would mean earlier access to what can be life-changing treatment.”
The ABC pilot comes as the most recent data from the Neonatal Data Analysis Unit at Imperial College London shows around 2,490 babies received care in 2021 for a brain injury that occurred during or soon after birth – a rate of 4.2 per 1,000 live births.
Professor Donald Peebles, NHS England national clinical director for maternity, said the health service was already making progress on tackling rates of brain injuries in childbirth and welcomed the pilot to reduce this further.
Gill Walton, chief executive of the RCM, said any event of an avoidable brain injury was “devastating” for mothers, families and all the staff involved.
She said improving multidisciplinary training was “key to improving pregnancy outcomes”.
“We are confident that the ABC tools and training will equip maternity staff at these pilot sites with the skills they need to ensure best outcomes for both mother and baby,” she added.
The pilot sites are:
- Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Croydon Health Services NHS Trust
- East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
- Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust
- St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
