Maternity Transformation Programme
Bulletin No.70: 21st May 2021
Maternity News
For a copy of the last MTP Bulletin and a listing for all previous MTP Bulletins please use this index link
Pregnant women and Covid - 19 vaccination programme
Vaccination in pregnancy: Guidance on pre-vaccination advice
In April, the JCVI advised that pregnant women should be offered vaccination against COVID-19 at the same time as the general population, and preferably with either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine.
Women who are pregnant, or who think they might be, can book their COVID-19 vaccinations online. Everybody under the age of 40 is being offered appointments for the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna Vaccine. Those aged 40 or over are asked if they’re pregnant, to ensure they’re only offered appointments for these vaccines.
All vaccination sites are asked to have measures in place to ensure they can offer pre-vaccination counselling on the potential benefits and risks of vaccination in pregnancy, so that women can make an informed choice about whether to receive them on site.
The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has updated its guidance for all Vaccination Sites on providing COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy, including pre-vaccination advice:
Maternity services are also being approached by women for this counselling. For the latest advice, please see PHE guidance for women of childbearing age, and the RCOG Decision Aid.
Care continuity between midwifery and health visiting services: principles for practice. Updated by PHE 19th May.
Care continuity between midwifery and health visiting enables safe, high quality, personalised care delivered in a timely manner. This continuity is an integral part of delivering the Healthy Child Programme (2009) and reaching the ambitions set in the National Maternity Review (2016) and NHS Long Term Plan (2019).
This document is designed to act as a tool to support local practice implementation and improvements in the care continuity between midwifery and health visiting services.
The full document including an executive summary can be viewed from the PHE website here
NICE updated Postnatal guidance
In last weeks bulletin a link was given for the new NICE guidance for postnatal care that women and their babies should receive in the first 8 weeks after the birth. A very useful infographic has been suggested to share - also produced by NICE, with an interactive flow chart on postnatal care
The updated NICE guidance can be viewed here and the link to the postnatal flowchart is available here
Pre-Eclampsia Day 22nd May
In support of World Pre Eclampsia day NHS England are seeking to raise awareness about Placental Growth Factor (PlGF) based testing. PlGF is an innovative blood test to rule out pre-eclampsia in pregnant women.
PIGF is NICE approved and has been supported by the Accelerated Access Collaborative ( a collaboration between industry, government, regulators, patients and the NHS). and covered by the MedTech Funding Mandate policy.
The MedTech Funding Mandate was introduced only last month which means even more patients can now benefit from PlGF.
To find out how the NHS can accelerate the the uptake of selected innovative medical devices, and quickly help more patients view the Accelerated Access Collaborative web pages here or contact The AHSN Network
Maternity Support Workers (MSW) level 3 curriculum
The Level 3 Curriculum was launched on 14 May. It is the next stage in supporting the development and standardisation of the Maternity Support Worker role in England:
- Phase one: design and development of the Maternity Support Worker Competency, Education and Career Development Framework;
- Phase two: implementation of the framework and scope of existing education provision; and
- Phase three: development of the curriculum.
Smoking in pregnancy challenge group
Today the CMO highlights that smoking will kill more people than Covid this year and the Royal College of Physician’s (RCP) published a new report on action needed to secure a smokefree country.
The RCPs new report, Smoking and Health 2021: a coming of age for tobacco control, sets out the further measures needed in the new Tobacco Control Plan including:
- Opt-out cessation support within the NHS
- Higher taxes to make tobacco less affordable
- Reinstating high levels of funding for mass media campaigns
- Protecting children from smoking on screen
- Raising the age of sale from 18 to 21
- Greater action to counter tobacco industry lobbying
For the full RCP report and their analysis please click here.
Supporting pregnant women to quit smoking
On 12th May 2021, ASH and the Smoking in Pregnancy Challenge Group hosted a webinar on the importance of getting maternity services to support pregnant women to quit and addressing the SATOD rates.
Please click here to view webinar
View and download the slides
Professor Viv Bennett: PHE contribution to this agenda
John Waldron: Getting back on track: delivering a smokefree start for every child
Martyn Willmore: Building back better through reintroducing CO monitoring
Professor Linda Bauld: Rapid evidence update on nicotine, incentives, and relapse prevention
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Art in Research
How to use arts-based approaches to engage people with research
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The arts are increasingly used to create an engagement with an audience but little research has been completed to provide consolidated evidence for their success. THIS have published a guide working with artists, researchers and practitioners to highlight case studies and give practical tips with evidence for what is likely to work with your engagement projects.
Read more and download the THIS guide here
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BAPM Publishes Updated Framework on Optimal Arrangements for NICUs.
BAPM Has updated the Framework for Practice on Optimal Arrangements for Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the UK. This framework provides guidance on the optimal size and activity levels of NICUs in the UK and medical staffing. The original framework was published in 2014, the updated version in April 2021.
Read the framework
RCUK Publish Newborn Resuscitation Guidelines
The Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK) have recently published Guidelines for 'Newborn resuscitation and support of transition of infants at birth.' The guidelines cover the management of the term and preterm infant and are based on the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) 2020 Consensus on Science and Treatment Recommendations (CoSTR) for Neonatal Life Support. [NLS CoSTR’s 2019 and 2020], and the European Resuscitation Council Guidelines for Newborn resuscitation and support of transition of infants at birth.
Read the Guidelines
NCMD publishes report on Child Mortality and Social Deprivation
The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) have published a report on Child Mortality and Social Deprivation. The report was commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) on behalf of NHS England.
The report finds a clear association between the risk of child death and their level of deprivation (for all categories of death except cancer). More specifically, it states that over a fifth of all child deaths might be avoided if children living in the most deprived areas had the same mortality risk as those living in the least deprived – which translates to over 700 fewer children dying per year in England. The report also contains case studies and details of practical interventions that can be used to reduce the number of child deaths where deprivation appears to be a factor.
Read the report
Dates for your diary
Twins Trust Webinars
The Twins Trust are running a second series of webinars with two speakers presenting a 20 minute talk, after which there will be time for discussion and questions from the audience.
Wednesday 26th May 2021, 6pm – 8pm
Mode of delivery in uncomplicated twin pregnancies - Gordon Smith
Management of atypical cases of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome - Rogelio Cruz Martinez
Wednesday 16th June 2021, 6pm - 8pm
Weight gain in twin pregnancy - Yariv Yogev
Maternal medicine cases in multiple pregnancy - Surabhi Nanda
More information and link to sign up here
PMRT training webinars (Parent Engagement in Reviews)
“Parent Engagement in Review and the Perinatal Mortality Review Tool (PMRT) – 16th June
Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, is offering live, free webinars outlining the key principles, pathway and resources to support parent engagement in the hospital review of their care as outlined by the PMRT. The first is on 16th June. Designed to support professionals across multi-disciplinary teams whether they have had training in bereavement care or not, the 1.5 hour session will also provide an opportunity for professionals to share ideas for solutions to barriers in communicating hospital review to bereaved parents. To register go to: https://parent-engagement-in-review.eventbrite.co.uk
Group B Strep in Pregnancy & Babies Conference
Wednesday, 2 June 2021 – online #GBSconference2021
Virtual Conference is a must-attend event for anyone interested in group B Strep.
Group B Strep is the leading cause of neonatal sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis in the UK.
This one-day virtual conference brings together world-leading international experts to talk about group B Strep prevention policies, different testing options, antibiotic usage, and the progress towards a GBS vaccine.
Conference Chairs are Edward Morris & Kathryn Gutteridge
For full programme and registration details please follow this link
10 Steps: Developing engagement plans - with a maternity focus
8th June, 0930-1600
This course presents the well-established 10 Steps model that sets out what must be considered when developing engagement plans and building partnerships with people and communities. For this session we are targeting people working in Local Maternity Services – while the content will be the same as other 10 Steps sessions, having a targeted audience means discussions can focus on this area of work.
Working with people and communities is one of the most important ways we can ensure that the NHS meets the needs of patients and the public. By engaging with people in meaningful discussion of the collective challenges we face, and of how to overcome these, we can tap into the diverse experiences, insights and ideas that patients and the public bring. (This engagement includes, for example, working with Maternity Voices Partnerships.)
Book your place here
PMH LTP Commissioner webinar - Friday 18 June
To support delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan ambitions for Perinatal Mental Health, NHS England will be hosting a webinar for mental health and maternity commissioners on Friday 18 June, 9 – 11am.
This is an important moment to take stock of perinatal mental health commissioning. In this webinar, attendees will:
- Hear from Claire Murdoch, National Mental Health Director at NHSE/I about recovery, funding and expectations on delivering the perinatal mental health LTP ambitions in 2021/22
- Gain insights into implementing the perinatal mental health delivery plan in an ICS context
- Reflect on the lived experience of women in the perinatal period
- Hear an update on Provider Collaboratives in perinatal mental health
- Reflect on how recent national research from the pandemic can help inform the expansion of perinatal mental health services
- Hear from a Maternal Mental Health Service on how co-production has informed service development
To register for the workshops please follow the link below.
Commissioning for better perinatal mental health outcomes - Next steps to delivery of LTP ambitions – Friday 18 June 2021, 9am-11am
Aide Memoir – Links to online resources
