Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure the implementation of NICE guidance on antenatal care for (a) twin and (b) triplet pregnancies in maternity units in England.

In 2017, the Department funded the Twins and Multiple Births Association Maternity Engagement Project. This 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. Taking this into account, the Department expects all health professionals working with multiple pregnancies to 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.