Last month, Sands Chief Executive, Clea Harmer, and staff working in research and public affairs spent two days at the Royal Institution of Science learning about ground-breaking innovations from the In Utero research programme and helping to build a vision for next generation antenatal care. 

Why this work is needed  

The technologies currently used in UK maternity care are not good enough at picking up all the babies who are at risk of dying or being born early, small or sick. To save more babies’ lives, we need new tools for accurate and individualised risk assessment - so that the right care is consistently offered to the right families at the right time. 

What we have learnt from In Utero  

The In Utero research programme has developed important cutting-edge technologies with realistic potential to:  

• Identify risk early – early insights from new blood tests and scans could show which women and birthing people are most likely to get serious pregnancy conditions like pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction before they develop – with greater than 80 percent accuracy, as early as 12 weeks of pregnancy. 

• Detect problems in time – innovations including wearable fetal movement monitors could help spot developing complications before it is too late. 

• Show when urgent action is needed – new technologies can help measure oxygen levels in the baby and placenta to show clearly when babies are at risk and birth is the only safe option. 

Sands Ambassador, Professor Gordon Smith, told us about how his own work has been accelerated by this programme.   

"The scale and dynamic nature of the support from Wellcome Leap allowed us to analyse changes in the levels of thousands of proteins found in a mother’s blood in the weeks and months leading up to pregnancy complications. This has led to multiple promising leads, which can help us predict which women are at increased risk of complications which can lead to stillbirth, such as gestational diabetes, fetal growth restriction, and preeclampsia."

Holly Osman, our Policy and Public Affairs Officer, joined the event with a particular interest in how these innovations could inform policy and campaigning, as well as what they might mean for families.

"It was fascinating to hear from different researchers about their work identifying early signs of pregnancy complications. There can be so much uncertainty in pregnancy, making it hard for parents to understand what care they need at different times. These innovations could give healthcare professionals and parents more clarity around risks to guide important decisions about care." 

What next? 

These innovations have great potential to transform safety and experiences for families. But proving they ‘work’ through research is just the first step. ​​​​Now, we must agree what needs to happen for these technologies to be scaled up and used to transform maternity care in the UK.  

This question was the focus of a roundtable meeting, hosted by Sands and In Utero, which brought together representatives from policy, practice, regulation and research to discuss opportunities and challenges linked to these new technologies, and develop a shared vision for the future of antenatal care in the UK.   

Clea Harmer represented the Sands community in this important discussion.

"This work is so important for bereaved parents, whose stories show that we need far more accurate information about how babies are developing in the womb to support safer, more positive pregnancies. We would like all families to have access to technologies that are proven to work, in a safe, caring system that continues to put families first."