Safe NHS maternity provision
England, Wales, Scotland, Ulster,
The Shetland & The Orkneys
Full staffing of NHS midwives and obstetrics
- End low staffing levels, putting safety of mothers and babies at risk in birthing care in NHS hospitals.
- Fully staff maternity NHS units with midwives and obstetrics staff (in hospital delivery suites).
From petition
TESTING FOR B Strep (GBS)
- All women to be tested for Group B Strep (GBS) by
36 weeks of pregnancy, routinely by the NHS.
From petition ..."So many babies die or are left with severe brain damage due to GBS. This could be avoided."...
Background:
Group B Strep: Fast Facts and Statistics | CDC
In the United States, GBS bacteria are a leading cause of meningitis and bloodstream infections in a newborn’s first three months of life.
Newborns are at increased risk for GBS disease if their mother tests positive for the bacteria late in pregnancy.
2 to 3 in every 50 babies (4–6%) who develop GBS disease die.
Early-onset GBS infection
- If a baby develops GBS infection in the first week after birth, it’s known as early-onset GBS infection.
Symptoms include:
- being floppy and unresponsive
- grunting when breathing, or
- working hard to breathe when you look at their chest or tummy
- a high or low temperature
- very fast or slow heart rate
- very fast or slow breathing
- changes in their skin colour, including blotchy skin
- not feeding well or vomiting milk
- crying and unable to settle
Safe NHS maternity provision
England, Wales, Scotland, Ulster,
The Shetland & The Orkneys
BETTER SCREENING OF BABIES AT BIRTH FOR labour-related hypoxic brain injury (Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy: HIE)
- Obstetrician Doctor-led births in hospitals, not just midwife led.
- Better fetal (unborn baby) monitoring, Cardiotocograph (CTG) interpretation and mother's labour management.
- Not assess baby's heart rate using hand held dopplers (intermittent ausculation) and confusing the baby's heart rate with that of the mother.
Background
David Hencke Blog - Westminster Confidential April 14, 2024
Why babies now could face brain damage at the health trust that sacked whistleblower obstetrician Mr Martyn Pitman
..."a year on, following Mr Pitman’s dismissal (2023), it is revealed that there is a ” present danger to patient safety ” in the maternity wards at the trust – a more than five fold increase in the number of babies delivered there with labour-related hypoxic brain injury (Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy: HIE) many of which may have been preventable. According to the Trust’s latest on-line patient information approximately 5,700 babies are delivered across its 3 sites."...
And Guardian article - Norah Bassett was hours old when she died in 2019, after multiple failings in her care. What can be learned from her heartbreaking loss? by Sirin Kale
..."women are dying: maternal deaths are up 53% in the period 2020-2022 compared to 2017-19."...
