This project aimed to improve how we talk about babies’ movements in pregnancy - so that parents get the information and guidance they need, and more babies’ lives are saved.
We know that many parents who experience later pregnancy loss notice a change in their baby’s movements.
In recent years, raising awareness of babies’ movements has been an important part of our work to reduce stillbirth in the UK. But the effect of this on stillbirth rates is unclear. Some parents have told us that they would like more detailed information about babies’ movements – to help them feel reassured and know when to get help.
Read Improving information and guidance about fetal movements - Learning and Impact Report
In every pregnancy I’ve had, I’ve never really known when I should be feeling it. I’ve never really known what kind of pattern I should be looking out for
Bereaved mother
This horizon-scanning project, led by Sands and Dr Tomasina Stacey from King’s College London (midwife and Senior Lecturer in Midwifery and Maternal Health Research), aimed to identify current challenges in discussing babies’ movements in UK maternity care and work towards a professional consensus on priority actions for improvement across healthcare, research, and policy.
We heard from bereaved and non-bereaved parents, healthcare staff, and stakeholders, who described a range of issues and shared their ideas about how care could be improved.
The Learning and Impact Report explains how we approached this work, our key learnings, and suggested steps.
We would like to thank everyone who supported this work, particularly Teddy’s Wish, whose funding made it possible.