Evaluating receipt of perinatal optimisation standards

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Evaluating receipt of perinatal optimisation standards and neonatal outcomes

  • IRAS ID

    345478

  • Contact name

    Maria Quigley

  • Contact email

    maria.quigley@npeu.ox.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Oxford

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    4 years, 1 months, 31 days

  • Research summary

    What we know?
    The Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle has been developed by the NHS in England and provides doctors, nurses and midwives with standards on how to provide the best care for women and babies around the time of birth. Part of the Care Bundle explains how to provide the best care to babies born premature, and includes nine ‘care processes’ for babies born before 34 weeks. The care processes include things such as giving steroids to the mother before birth, giving antibiotics to the mother during birth, making sure the cord is clamped at the right time, and ensuring that maternal breast milk is given to the baby shortly after birth. These are based on previous research studies, but we don’t know how many preterm babies in England receive some or all of these care processes. We also don’t know if babies who receive these care processes in real-life care do better than babies that do not.

    What do we want to find out?

    We want to:
    1. Describe how many preterm babies receive all or some of seven care processes recommended in the Care Bundle.
    2. Describe whether getting all or some of the care processes varies according to characteristics such as poverty or the ethnicity of the mother.
    3. Describe whether the babies who receive all or some of the care processes have better neonatal outcomes.

    How will we do the research?
    We will use data from the National Neonatal Research Database, which holds data collected as part of standard NHS care on preterm babies admitted to a neonatal unit in England. We will analyse which babies receive the care processes and how this is related to outcomes. We will be guided by researchers, parents who have had a preterm baby, and relevant organisations.

  • REC name

    London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    24/LO/0836

  • Date of REC Opinion

    18 Nov 2024

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion