General

The health of thousands of babies born every year by planned caesarean section is being put at risk because hospitals carry out the operations earlier than is wise, childbirth experts are warning.

In some hospitals, more than half of those who have the operation have it before the 39th week of their pregnancy, in contravention of official NHS guidelines.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health is pleased to be working with the Welsh Government and the Health Board to provide an independent view on neonatal services in North Wales.

RCPCH is the leading professional organisation supporting research training and policy developments for paediatrics including neonatal care.  We work closely with specialty groups such as the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) and have an established process for providing confidential independent reviews of services and systems.

Medical bodies, senior doctors and the National Childbirth Trust have called on the NHS to reverse the policy it has pursued since the 1960s of clamping and cutting a baby’s umbilical cord as soon as it is born.

They cited increasing evidence that the practice may leave newborn babies deprived of vital blood from the placenta.