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Multiple Births

Question for Department of Health and Social Care

UIN HL11168, tabled on 31 October 2018

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage prompt implementation of the updated NICE guidance on twin, triplet and more pregnancies, which is due to be published in 2019.

Answered on

13 November 2018

In 2017, the Department funded the Twins and Multiple Births Association Maternity Engagement Project. The 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.