Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the health risks for mothers giving birth to (a) twins and (b) multiples.

The Government is determined to ensure that all women receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care and continues to work with the National Health Service as it delivers its three-year maternity and neonatal plan to achieve this.

The latest data shows that 1.4% of maternities result in multiple births, however pregnancies for twins and multiples are associated with significantly higher risks for stillbirth and preterm birth, and many multiples spend time in neonatal care. We are ensuring high quality care is implemented across England to improve these outcomes. The NHS is rolling out version three of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which provides maternity units with detailed guidance to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injuries, neonatal deaths, and preterm births, including specific guidance for multiple pregnancies. This has been fully implemented by over 100 providers.

Additionally, last year, we launched a £50 million National Institute for Health and Care Research challenge fund to task researchers and policymakers with finding new ways to tackle poor pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth.