National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) antenatal care guidance recommends offering two routine ultrasound scans: one in the first trimester, and one at around 20 weeks. For pregnancies classified as low-risk, NICE advises that additional routine scans after 28 weeks do not provide significant benefits and should not be offered as standard practice. Instead, NICE recommends targeted scanning based on clinical need.

Antenatal and newborn screening programmes are offered to women during pregnancy and to the baby after birth. The NHS offers screening for over 30 conditions during this time, including a 20-weeks scan for women, which screens for 11 physical conditions identifiable at this stage in development. Screening and treatment of babies prevents deaths and disabilities and improves quality of life in more than 1,000 children per year.

Mandating a routine ultrasound for all women in the third trimester when there are no specific clinical symptoms would be considered a screening programme. The Government is advised on all screening matters by the independent UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which consists of leading medical and screening experts.

Screening can cause harm, so the UK NSC will only recommend screening if it is confident that there is robust evidence that offering screening will do more good than harm. We have not asked the UK NSC to look at providing a routine third ultrasound scan in the third trimester of pregnancy to identify medical issues. Recent studies, such as the IRIS study, have explored routine third trimester ultrasound combined with biomarkers which suggest improved detection of small babies but there remains insufficient evidence that universal screening alone reduces stillbirth. However, the UK NSC welcomes any new evidence which suggests the case for a new or modified screening programme via its open call, which opened on 1 July and closes on 30 September 2026.

The NHS has multiple initiatives in place to support fetal, neonatal and newborn safety, such as the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle (SBLCB) and the Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth Programme.

The SBLCB is a package of evidence-based interventions to support staff to reduce stillbirth, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death and pre-term births. This includes guidance on managing multiple pregnancies to ensure optimal care for the woman and baby. Element 2 of SBLCB focuses on fetal growth risk assessment, surveillance and management. Implementation of the SBLCB is supported through NHS Resolution’s Maternity Incentive Scheme, which provides a strong financial incentive to encourage its adoption and consistent use. As part of Safety Action 6 in Year 7 of the Maternity Incentive Scheme (2025/26), NHS trusts were required to demonstrate they were on track for full implementation of SBLCB v3.2. The results from Year 7 show that, as at April 2026, 117 out of 119 (98% of) trusts were compliant with Safety Action 6.

Fetal and maternal wellbeing are continuously risk assessed during labour. The Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth Programme, backed by £7.8 million in funding, is working to improve maternity outcomes by enhancing the identification and management of fetal distress during labour and the obstetric emergency of impacted fetal head at caesarean birth. NHS England is leading on national implementation. Through this programme we will seek to improve clinical practice, communication and care for women and families, resulting in better outcomes and experiences. The project will help maternity staff improve clinical practice in detection and response to suspected intrapartum fetal deterioration and management of impacted fetal head at caesarean birth. The programme will be fully implemented by March 2027.

Baroness Amos published her final report and recommendations of the national independent investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal care on 30 June. Her investigation found that women and families are not being listened to, accountability is not being delivered when things go wrong, and that racism and discrimination are driving inequalities in outcomes.

The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which is comprised of family representatives, clinicians and other experts, and chaired by the Secretary of State, will develop a new national action plan. We will publish the action plan by the end of the year. Once published, the Taskforce will hold the system to account for implementing the action plan and improving outcomes and experiences for women, babies and families, as well as staff.

Michelle Welsh MP, as the government’s first Maternity and Neonatal Adviser, will continue to work directly with families, the government, the NHS and maternity organisations to push for better, safer care for mothers, babies and families.

Department of Health and Social Care