Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to include vasa praevia screening as part of antenatal care within the NHS.

Based on the UK National Screening Committee’s last review in 2023 of screening women for vasa praevia during pregnancy, screening is not currently recommended, because:

- it is not known how many babies are affected by it in the United Kingdom;

- it is not known how accurate screening tests are at detecting it;

- screening may mean some women are offered an early caesarean when they do not need one; and

- some women may be reassured by false tests and still have a problem during delivery.

The Secretariat hopes to be able to commission a further evidence review within the next three years.