Campaigning and opinions

A paper published in the BMJ today looks at the effect of interpregnancy interval on outcomes of pregnancy after miscarriage. Researchers found that women who conceive within six months of an initial miscarriage have the best chance of having a healthy pregnancy with the lowest complication rates.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) welcomes the King’s Fund discussion paper The role of GPs in maternity care - what does the future hold?

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) have published today new guidance on dietary and physical activity interventions for weight management before, during and after pregnancy.

A paper published in the BMJ today looking at data from Scottish national registers shows a higher incidence of perinatal mortality for births occurring during the out-of-hours period (17.01 – 08.59hrs and on weekends).  Researchers found 26% of neonatal deaths from intrapartum anoxia (lack of oxygen) were associated with delivery during this time of the day.  The increase in risk of neonatal death ascribed to anoxia, excluding planned caesarean delivery, was found to be 45%.   

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) welcomes the Department of Health’s White Paper Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS.  It is pleased to see a sharper focus on a patient-centred care and the promise to remove bureaucracy and unnecessary targets. 

A meta-analysis in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (AJOG) published today looks at the maternal and neonatal outcomes of planned home and hospitals births. 

A news report today shows a higher perinatal death rate for births occurring in hospitals during the night.  The Dutch study, published in BJOG, looked at births in all Dutch maternity units over seven years.  Findings show that hospital deliveries in the evenings (1800 – 2359 hours) and at night (0000 – 0759 hours) were associated with increased perinatal mortality and adverse perinatal outcome.   In smaller hospitals (<1,000 deliveries), the mortality and adverse outcome rates were higher.  Researchers note that in units where senior staff were present, perinatal mortality and adverse perinatal outcomes were lower. 

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) welcomes the findings and recommendations of Professor Sir John Temple’s report Time for Training on the impact of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) on junior doctor training.

A paper published in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) shows that children who were born between 37 – 39 weeks gestation were between 1.43 and 1.16 times more likely to have Special Educational Needs (SEN) compared to babies born at the expected dates (40 – 41 weeks). Interestingly, the study also shows that post-dates babies (born at 42 – 43 weeks) where also found to be more likely to have SEN than those babies born at term (40 – 41 weeks)  The authors note that their findings have important implications for the timing of elective deliveries particularly caesarean sections. 

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists International Office (RCOG IO) welcomes the Coalition’s Government’s announcement today about international development aid to the world’s poorest countries.  We are also pleased to see comments made by the Prime Minister in the Guardian that the process of giving is to be made more transparent so that money is channelled to those they were intended for.  In order for aid programmes to be effective, strict governance and careful audit are required so that UK taxpayers know they are getting value for money.