Weight worries and pregnancy are among the health concerns that drive thousands of people to seek medical advice on Christmas Day, new data shows. They are among the most popular searches on NHS.uk, the NHS’s official website, on December 25 in recent years. More than people searched information on pregnancy on Christmas Day. With traditional […]

Spinal surgery for spina bifida for babies in the womb is among new, innovative treatments that will be routinely available on the NHS for the first time, NHS England announced today. The cutting edge procedure for unborn children with spina bifida, whose spine and spinal cord do not develop properly, allows pregnant women to be […]

New and expectant fathers will be offered mental health checks and treatment under radical action to support families, NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens announced today (2 December 2018). In the landmark move, the partners of pregnant women and new mothers who are themselves suffering from anxiety, depression or more severe disorders such as psychosis […]

Evaluation shows clinical improvements across 19 sites led to maternity staff helping to save more than 160 babies’ lives. An estimated 600 stillbirths annually could be prevented if maternity units adopt national best practice says NHS England. Clinical improvements such as better monitoring of a baby’s growth and movement in pregnancy, as well as better […]

NHS England has confirmed that new and expectant mums will be able to access specialist perinatal mental health community services in every part of the country by April next year. The health service is now spending £23 million rolling out the second wave of community perinatal services to underserved parts of the country and is […]

England’s top midwife today praised the ‘extraordinary’ role of midwives who have delivered more than 50 million babies over the last seven decades and urged young people to consider the “uniquely rewarding” career. In the run-up to the NHS’s 70th birthday, Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent urged midwives and parents to share their stories, showing support for […]

Valentine’s Day romance leads to a jump in pregnancies, new figures from NHS England show. With love in the air, there was a 5 per cent rise in conceptions around the most romantic day of the year, according to the data gathered to help the NHS provide the best possible care for mums-to-be and their […]

The NHS has today confirmed that extra funding will be made available to improve the mental health of at least 3,000 pregnant women and those who have recently given birth. The £23 million funding is part of a major programme of improvement and investment by NHS England which will see a total of 30,000 additional […]

The NHS’s most senior midwife says 2018 will be a year of opportunity for promoting continuity of carer maternity standards for mums-to-be across England. NHS England has today published new guidance to help local areas to provide women with more consistent care and support, including a named midwife, before, during and after birth. The continuity […]

A wireless sensor that better detects breathing rate in hospital patients, an app to help pregnant women monitor hypertension and another that directs patients with minor injuries to treatment units with the shortest queues are among the latest innovations set to be spread across the NHS. Eleven ground-breaking projects are being backed in the latest […]