Campaigning and opinions

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) welcomes the House of Commons Health Select Committee’s report on medical education, training and workforce planning published today. 

Today NICE have issued draft guidelines, Fertility: assessment and treatment for people with fertility problems (update), which are now open for public consultation.

The BMJ paper evaluated the effects of dietary and lifestyle interventions in pregnancy on maternal and fetal weight and looked at how this affected obstetric outcomes.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) welcomes the announcement in the media today about a named midwife for every expectant mother.  This should help ensure a better birth experience for all mothers by supporting her before and after the birth and as she makes the transition into motherhood. 

An article in today’s press (‘Doubling of maternal death rate blamed on shortage of midwives’, Independent, 30 April 2012) makes reference to a letter published in The Lancet.

UPDATE 22/05/12: The CMO has released a letter to healthcare professionals on safeguarding girls at-risk of FGM. To view, click here.  

Press reports of doctors carrying out FGM in London clinics during the 1980s led to a Private Members Bill in the House of Lords which resulted ultimately the Female Genital Mutilation Act in 2003.  The RCOG is concerned by the story published in today’s Sunday Times on a doctor and a dentist agreeing to procure/carry out FGM on British girls.

This study looks at the cost-effectiveness of alternative planned places of birth using evidence from the Birthplace in England national prospective cohort study published in 2011.

An article published in The Lancet today reveals continuing poor access to basic obstetric attention and care in some resource-poor countries.

The paper looks at infant mortality and stillbirth in Scotland between 1985-2008, in particular the impact of the ‘Back to Sleep’ campaign launched in 1991. This campaign recommended that women should place their babies on their backs when sleeping.

Two papers published in PLoS Medicine look at mode of delivery after a previous caesarean section.  One paper looks at womb rupture and the second looks at planned repeat caesarean section.