Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 14 November (HL11167), how they intend to ensure that the findings from the interim report of the Twins and Multiple Births Association Maternity Engagement Project are delivered in practice.

In 2017, the Department funded the Twins and Multiple Births Association Maternity Engagement Project. The results from the interim report suggest that increased adherence to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance gave better outcomes for multiple births. This further reinforces the Department’s expectation that all health professionals working with multiple pregnancies adhere to the relevant NICE guidance.

To reduce variance in the levels of maternity care across trusts, all maternity services now have one obstetrician, one midwife and one board level Maternity Safety Champion jointly responsible for championing maternity safety, spreading learning and encouraging best practice within their organisations. This includes adherence to NICE guidelines on issues such as antenatal care for multiple pregnancies.

We look forward to reviewing the final project report, which we understand is due for publication in mid-2019.