UK study aims to transform maternity care for high-risk pregnancies

FemTech World covers a new three-year UK research project aimed at improving maternity care for pregnant women living with multiple long-term health conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and mental health disorders. The project is led by the University of Aberdeen and Birmingham City University, with partners including King’s College London, the University of Birmingham, Manchester University, Barts Health NHS Trust, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NHS Foundation Trust, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

The study is backed by a £1.3 million award from the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The problem it addresses is concrete: more than one in six pregnant women in the UK now live with multiple long-term conditions, and more than 80 women die each year from pregnancy-related complications. Women with multiple chronic conditions face twice the risk of preterm birth and are nine times more likely to die during pregnancy than women without those complications.

Researchers plan to build an evidence-led “care bundle” for use across pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period. It will cover medication management, communication between healthcare teams, midwifery care, and handovers after birth. For diabetes care, the relevance is that pregnant women with diabetes often need coordinated input across maternity, endocrinology, primary care, and postnatal follow-up; the study is trying to reduce the fragmented advice and care gaps that can worsen outcomes.