Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes have taken place in the last two years to improve the measurement of babies in the final stages of pregnancy.

Fetal growth restriction is widely recognised as a major determinant of stillbirth. Knowledge to inform the effective identification and management of these babies continues to grow, particularly around what constitutes ‘normal’ growth for each baby.

We are advised by NHS England that it is developing the Saving Babies’ Lives “care bundle”. This is a package of measures which includes a recommendation to improve the detection of growth restricted babies. This includes use of a growth chart to plot fundal height (the distance from the maternal pelvis to the top of the growing womb) and estimated fetal weight, both measures to estimate a baby’s growth. The recommendation is also designed to tackle variable practice amongst clinicians in carrying out measurements. We understand this will be published as a guidance document later in 2016 and will be followed by an implementation toolkit.

The care bundle is now being voluntarily implemented by maternity care providers while its recommendations are tested, formally evaluated in practice and refined over time and in the light of new evidence.