Action needed to reduce the incidence and impact of preterm birth, says Lords committee

“We heard stark evidence about the impact of preterm birth, which can be sudden and unexpected. While many babies born prematurely go on to do well, for some children and families, preterm birth has significant, and often lifelong, adverse consequences.”

Lord Patel, Chair of the House of Lords Preterm Birth Committee

A House of Lords committee has called on the Government and NHS England to take further steps to reduce the incidence and impact of preterm births*. It also recommends a greater focus on the needs of parents of preterm babies, who are not consistently receiving the care and ongoing support they need at an especially challenging time in their lives.

After taking evidence from parents, charities, academics, healthcare professionals, NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, the Preterm Birth Committee's report ‘Preterm birth: Reducing risks and improving lives', published today (Thursday 14 November), concludes that the national target to reduce the preterm birth rate in England to 6% by 2025 will not be met.

The committee also found that:

• there are worrying disparities between preterm birth rates and outcomes across different socioeconomic and ethnic groups;
  
  
• there are currently large variations in the implementation of national clinical guidance related to preterm birth between hospitals and regions;
  
  
• maternity and neonatal services continue to face staffing pressures, which can have an impact on the provision of safe, high-quality care for preterm babies and their families;

• children who were born preterm do not always receive essential neurodevelopmental assessments at age two, and rarely at age four, despite these being recommended by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE);

• a greater focus on pregnancy and neonatal research is needed, alongside increased funding, to develop more effective interventions and ensure clinical guidance is implemented effectively.
  
  

It is therefore calling on the Government and NHS England to:

• focus on national targets that will support efforts to reduce the incidence and impact of preterm birth, across all groups of the population;
  
  
• ensure that all women have access to information and advice on pregnancy planning and preconception health, as part of a renewed focus on prevention in healthcare;
  
  
• ensure every region has the resources to implement intervention programmes that focus on consistent delivery of best-practice clinical guidance;
  
  
• meet the commitments to develop the maternity and neonatal workforce set out in the NHS Long-term Workforce Plan;

• set out their plans for future investment in parental accommodation on neonatal units, to support improved provision of family integrated care;

• introduce targeted training for health visitors, so they can develop specialist knowledge of the needs of preterm babies and their families;
  
  
• determine why the follow-up assessments for children who were born prematurely are not being consistently delivered, in particular at age four, and prioritise work to address this.
  
  

Committee Chair, Lord Patel said;

“We heard stark evidence on the impact of preterm birth, which can be sudden and unexpected. While many babies born prematurely go on to do well, for some children and families, preterm birth has significant, and often lifelong, adverse consequences.

Reducing the immediate and longer-term impacts of preterm birth should therefore remain a key objective. Improving outcomes for preterm babies and their families could also generate substantial cost savings within healthcare and education.

We thank all the witnesses who shared their personal experiences with the Committee. Their accounts made clear why more must be done to support preterm babies and their families to thrive.

Improving the life chances of the few requires effort by the many. We hope that the key findings of our report will form part of the co-ordinated effort needed to ensure that this happens.”

Notes to Editors

1. *Preterm birth – when a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy – is the single biggest cause of neonatal mortality in the UK, and a leading contributor to deaths in childhood. Children who have been born prematurely are at increased risk of having long-term health conditions and disabilities. They are also more likely to have communication difficulties, autism and special educational needs.