What's new in midwifery - 5th September 2018

Some recent things you might need to know about.

There was no post last week as I was on my holidays, so here is two weeks’ worth.

Valproate and pregnancy

Letter in the BMJ about circumstances in which a woman of childbearing age may be unable to stop taking valproate.

Maternal request caesarean

Birthrights report from August 2018, according to King’s Fund Library “This report, the result of a nationwide Freedom of Information Act request, shows that the majority of NHS trusts in the UK make the process of requesting a caesarean lengthy, difficult or inconsistent adding anxiety and distress to women at a vulnerable time.”

NICE

Surveillance reports (these report decisions to update, or not, existing guidance).

Pregnancy and complex social factors: a model for service provision for pregnant women with complex social factors (CG110, 2010) – this will not be updated.  Details of the decision are here. 

Medtech innovation briefing

MIB155 - Neon EEG electrode for EEG monitoring in newborns

In the news (all from the Guardian)

NHS maternity units were forced to close 287 times last year

Inquiry into deaths at NHS maternity unit widened (Shrewsbury and Telford)

Express yourself! Celebrity mums lead breast pump boom

Statistics

Maternity services statistics for England, May 2018 (NHS)

Quarterly conceptions to women aged under 18 in England andWales: April – June 2017 (Office for National Statistics)

Sources
BMJ alerts, King’s Fund Library Health Management and Policy Alert, Embed Health Consortium Health Bulletin ... and reading the Guardian on the train!