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Each Baby Counts Themed Report – Anaesthetic Care

Each baby counts has published a report following analysis of the anaesthetic care given to mothers of babies reported to each baby counts between 2015 – 17. The report is supported by the Royal College of Anaesthetists and Obstetric Anaesthetists Association.

Key findings highlight:

• Many anaesthetic problems contributed to delays in delivery
• There is a need to optimise communication about urgency of delivery to allowed for informed choice about method of anaesthesia

The report highlights a number of key recommendations including:

• All reviews of baby deaths should involve an obstetric anaesthetist.
• Anaesthetists should always be informed of the degree of urgency of delivery.
• All women who receive epidural analgesia should be reviewed to ensure the effectiveness of the epidural and to minimise delays should the need for operative delivery arise.

​The full report is available here.

NHS hospitals not following NICE guidelines on twin & triplet pregnancies leading to deaths of up to 55 babies

A report by TAMBA (twins & multiple births association) has concluded that if all hospital were to follow nice guidelines for twin, triplet & more pregnancies then 55 baby deaths could be prevented each year.

​If mums of multiples are able to have a discussion by 24 weeks with a multidisciplinary team about risks of preterm labour and possible outcomes of preterm birth it correlates to a lower stillbirth rate.

If all recommendation from the report are adopted it is thought lives could be saved and fewer babies would need neonatal care.

Find out more on the TAMBA website.