UK Perinatal Mortality Surveillance Report published May 2016

The UK Perinatal Mortality Surveillance Report 2016, published by Maternal, Newborn and Infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme (MBRRACE – UK), monitors rates of still births and neonatal deaths in the UK.  This is the second perinatal report produced by this organisation and looks at surveillance of all late fetal losses, stillbirths, and neonatal deaths.

The key findings of the report include:

• UK stillbirth and neonatal death rates remain higher than those reported by the best performing countries in Europe.
• Babies of women living in socially deprived areas of the UK are more than 50% more likely to be stillborn or die in the neonatal period compared to babies of women in the most affluent areas of the UK.
• Around two thirds of stillbirths and neonatal deaths were of babies born preterm.
• In 2014 there were 782,311 UK (and Crown Dependency) births at and after 24 weeks gestation. Of these there were 3,252 stillbirths and 1,381 neonatal deaths.

The report makes a number of recommendations, these are:

• Poorly performing organisations should review their data and care provision.
• All stillbirths and neonatal deaths should be investigated using an independent, multidisciplinary peer review.
• Formal targets aiming to reduce the incidence of stillbirth and neonatal death further should be introduced.
• Reporting of stillbirth and neonatal death should be improved.
• Post mortems should be offered in all cases of stillbirth and neonatal death and in stillbirth the placenta should always be examined.

Richard Money-Kyrle, partner in the medical negligence claims team, commented on the report’s findings:

“The relative incidence of preterm stillbirth and neonatal deaths suggest that initiatives to reduce preterm birth as well as ensuring high quality care for women at around and after 40 weeks gestation are required. That our stillbirth and neonatal death rates remain comparatively high and especially the variation relating to social environment is of concern and demonstrates that substantial further improvement in live birth and neonatal survival rates should be possible. Identifying and improving antenatal care as well as obstetric care during delivery and neonatal care after delivery will not only improve stillbirth and neonatal death rates but will also reduce the incidence of cerebral palsy associated with pre term delivery and mismanaged delivery and neonatal care”.