Attack On NHS Over Birth Test

A world-renowned Scottish doctor yesterday criticised health chiefs for refusing to offer pregnant women ultrasound checks that could detect a condition which can kill healthy babies within minutes of birth. Professor Stuart Campbell, who provoked debate with his 4-D scans showing babies “walking in the womb”, said it was a “scandal” that nothing was done by the NHS to detect vasa praevia. It claims the lives of about one in 3,000 babies who bleed to death in the womb.

Although the condition can be detected by a scan, the NHS has repeatedly refused to offer this service on the grounds of cost. Vasa praevia occurs when blood vessels feeding an unborn baby rupture at the onset of labour contractions.

Prof Campbell said: “It does not need fancy equipment. In fact, most hospitals in the UK have the colour Doppler scanners you need, but they won’t use it on pregnant women. I find it outrageous that in Scotland – the country that invented ultrasound – hospitals are not scanning for this condition.”

The at-risk group includes older first-time mothers, women carrying IVF babies and women identified as having low-lying placentas early in pregnancy.

However, some senior clinicians in the NHS in Scotland do not believe that scanning for vasa praevia should be made a priority. Dr Alan Cameron, a consultant obstetrician in Glasgow and president of the British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society, said: “It is a devastating problem when it occurs … but I am not convinced it is something we could realistically scan for under current financial constraints.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: “There is little evidence to support routine screening for vasa praevia. However, NHS boards will make further investigations when there are associated risk factors for previously affected women.”

• Mothers who put on weight after their first baby risk serious complications when they get pregnant again. Researchers who studied over 150,000 Swedish women found that even gaining a few pounds increases the risk of pregnancy-linked diabetes, high blood pressure or high birth-weight babies by up to 40%.
Problem can be spotted

CAROL Prentice was expecting a straightforward delivery when she was booked in to be induced.

But when a midwife decided to speed up delivery by breaking her waters it was a decision that nearly cost Carol her baby.

Only a series of coincidences saved Rebecca’s life. A consultant at Bellshill maternity hospital had dealt with a case of a mother with vasa praevia three weeks previously, so he knew it was imperative Carol’s baby was delivered by Caesarian section.

Carol said: “What made me angry was afterwards I found out that vasa praevia can be detected by a scan. I found myself asking why people should lose their perfectly healthy babies if medical technology can spot the signs of a problem early?”