Staffing and workload issues have been identified as a major factor in stillbirths and neonatal deaths during labour, following a national review.
The MBRRACE-UK report looked at the quality of care for stillbirths and neonatal deaths of babies born at term who were alive at the onset of labour and not affected by a major congenital anomaly.
This type of death occurred in 225 pregnancies in the UK in 2015 and represents about 5% of perinatal deaths overall, noted the report authors from the University of Oxford.
Overall, they found that stillbirth and neonatal deaths have more than halved in the UK from 0.62 to 0.28 per 1,000 total births since 1993, representing a fall of around 220 intrapartum deaths per year.
However, despite the fall in the mortality rate, such deaths remain an important group for concern, highlighted the researchers.
They said this was not least because, in the vast majority, the mother was directly receiving maternity care when the baby died or when the event occurred that led to the baby’s death.
To investigate further, the analysis focused on 78 of the 2015 cases to identify potentially avoidable failures of care during labour, delivery and any resuscitation, that may have caused the death.
The care provided for the mothers and babies was reviewed in detail against national guidelines and standards by a panel of clinicians, including midwives, bereavement midwives and neonatal nurses.
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Inadequate staffing implicated in stillbirths and neonatal death
Filed under: Hospital, NHS, Stillbirths
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS 