View
comments
Baby mortality during labour was nearly twice as high in the pandemic as normal – as remote appointments became more common for pregnant women, a report has revealed.
Fewer in-person consultations ‘impeded’ care with fewer opportunities for physical examinations, the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch report found.
It means doctors and midwives were less well placed to spot potentially fatal complications and monitor babies’ growth.
Policies requiring women to attend antenatal appointments alone also hampered communication – particularly for those for whom English was not their first language, the damning review found.
There were 45 so-called ‘intrapartum stillbirths’ in England from April to June last year – 88 per cent more than the 24 during the same period in 2019.
Fewer in-person consultations ‘impeded’ care with fewer opportunities for physical examinations, the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch report found (file photo)
These are deaths where a baby was thought to be alive at the start of labour but was born, beyond 37 weeks of gestation, with no signs of life.
The majority of the stillbirth deaths occurred due to problems with the placenta and compromised blood flow to the baby. Nineteen babies had no signs of life on the first visit to hospital during labour. But 11 of these women had made telephone contact for advice and were advised to remain at home.
In one of the cases, the mother chose not to attend an appointment for fear of catching coronavirus at the clinic.
In all of the cases it reviewed, the women attended
