Too few trained staff, a massive shortage of midwives, and poor resources mean that hundreds of babies are dying needlessly each year and that death rates in childbirth are showing no signs of declining, despite medical advances. Jonathan Owen reports
Published: 23 September 2007
Up to 1,000 babies that are born dead each year could be saved if doctors and midwives were better trained to spot vital warning signs, according to one of the UK's leading experts on stillbirths. Health experts say the numbers of stillbirths in the UK are alarmingly high – 10 times the level of cot deaths – and most are unexplained.
New research to be presented at an international conference in Birmingham next week will hear that "sub-optimal care" is a key factor in many of the deaths. In many cases, midwives are having to deal with too many births.
The conference will hear important new evidence of a vital link between foetal growth restriction and stillbirths that can provide doctors with an early warning system that could save countless lives and spare families the loss of a child.
http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article2990158.ece
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