This draft guideline, which will update NG3 (published Feb 2015), will cover managing diabetes and its complications in women who are planning pregnancy or are already pregnant. Update covers flash and continuous glucose monitoring during pregnancy for women with type 1 diabetes.
You can now review and comment on this draft guideline. The consultation closes on 21st October 2020 at 5pm.
Read the consultation documents and details of how to contribute here
Monthly Archives: September 2020
The courage of compassion: Supporting nurses and midwives to deliver high-quality care
This Kings Fund report explores the causes and consequences of poor mental health and wellbeing among nurses and midwives, and seeks to identify solutions to these issues and examples of good practice. The graphic displays three core needs and eight recommendations.
Download the full report from here
MIDIRS PACKS ON COVID-19 updated
MIDIRS updated their search packs on 18th September on the following topics:
- P200 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) in pregnancy
- PN193 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the infant
- M95 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the midwife
- L69 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Labour, delivery and intrapartum care
- PN194 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Postnatal health and care
Find links to the packs here
New research finds better drug treatment for miscarriage as patients struggle to access surgery in Covid-19 pandemic
Tommy’s researchers at the University of Birmingham studied 711 women across 28 UK hospitals with a diagnosis of missed miscarriage in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, randomly assigning them to receive either mifepristone or a placebo drug followed by misoprostol 2 days later. The trial showed that the miscarriage resolution rate increased by 7% in the mifepristone plus misoprostol group (resolution rate 83%) compared to the placebo plus misoprostol group (resolution rate 76%). In addition, the need for surgery was reduced, with 25% of women given the placebo plus misoprostol later needing surgery to complete the miscarriage, compared with 17% of those who took mifepristone and misoprostol.
Researchers are doing further analysis to see exactly how much money switching to this combined treatment could save healthcare providers, but these findings suggest it would be more cost-effective for the NHS and better for patients.
The National Institute of Health Research funded the study, read their blog entry here or see the Lancet article here
Chu JJ, Devall AJ, Beeson LE, et al. Mifepristone and misoprostol versus misoprostol alone for the management of missed miscarriage (MifeMiso): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2020 Sep 12;396(10253):770-778.
reintroduce access for partners, visitors and other supporters of pregnant women in English maternity services
NS England published a framework for the reintroduction of visitors in maternity services in England on 8th September, followed up with a letter to Directors of Nursing and Heads of Midwifery on 18th September.
The Framework also directed readers to information to support risk assessment of visiting policies in Royal College of Midwives’
briefing Reintroduction of visitors to Maternity Units across the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic dated 15th July 2020
Family origin questionnaire: future options for maternity service providers
Public Health England advises “Start planning for the future without free national printed Family Origin Questionnaires”.
Options for local antenatal screening providers to consider include:
- developing their own local digital version of the FOQ
- using a combined booking bloods and FOQ form which goes to the screening labs with all the antenatal samples
Read the blog post from PHE here for more info
Healthy pregnancy indicators
Public Health England have produced new indicators for smoking, obesity, early access to maternity services, folic acid supplement use and alcohol and drug misuse in early pregnancy.
Data is presented at a national level, with most indicators also available at regional level and for upper tier local authorities, clinical commissioning groups and local maternity systems. The indicators include information about inequalities.
Visit the indicators page here
Maternity & Obstetrics 