Long Term Plan saving 3,000 more babies’ lives

The NHS is saving hundreds more babies’ lives every year compared with a decade ago, with thousands more to be saved thanks to ongoing action to make services safer.

Professor Jaqueline Dunkley-Bent, the first-ever NHS chief midwifery officer, has praised improvements to local maternity services which saw a reduction of the stillbirth rate by 21 per cent between 2010 and 2018 – meaning 2,900 fewer stillbirths.

And new analysis has showed that the number of stillbirths was 669 lower in 2018 than it was in 2010. This means that, even without further improvements, the combined number of additional babies born including 2019 is likely to exceed 3,500.

The extra lives saved between 2010 and 2018 means that the NHS met its own ambitious 20 per cent target two years ahead of the 2020 deadline. Speaking at the inaugural Chief Midwifery Officer’s Summit in Manchester, Professor Dunkley-Bent will say that this puts the NHS in a strong position to meet the next milestone of a 50 per cent reduction by 2025.

Dunkley-Bent said: “These are not just numbers on a page; every single one represents a son or daughter, a sister or brother, a niece or nephew, a grandson or granddaughter – a new member of a family surviving. That’s what midwives and maternity teams deliver, day in and day out.

“But what these numbers also tell us, is a story of how the NHS has made great strides to implement better births over the last decade, and particularly in the four years since that report was published. As we work to deliver our Long Term Plan and accelerate improvements in care for expectant women, this progress provides encouragement that we can meet our ambition to make England the best place in the world to give birth, and to save thousands more lives. And that’s why there is no room for complacency.”