MBRRACE–UK released their 5th report ‘Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care’. It describes the lessons learned to inform maternity care from the UK and Ireland Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths and Morbidity from 2014-2016. Here’s The Breastfeeding Network’s response.
The Breastfeeding Network (BfN) welcomes the report. While the research has found that the number of women dying as a consequence of complications during or after
pregnancy remains low in the UK – with fewer than 10 out of every 100,000 pregnant women dying in pregnancy or around childbirth, the report highlights the unacceptable disparity in care for black and ethnic minority women. Shereen Fisher, Chief Executive for the Breastfeeding Network said, ‘The almost five-fold higher mortality rate amongst black women compared with white women requires urgent explanation and action. BfN welcome further exploration into this unacceptable disparity to ensure there is real change for black and ethnic minority women’.
A key concern, is the tragic case of a mother dying several weeks after her baby was born (Commencing treatment, dose and compliance page 39). There were delays in prescribing thromboprophylaxis because of concerns over breastfeeding.
Dr Wendy Jones, lead pharmacist for the BfN Drugs in Breastmilk Information service, said ‘I have long feared such a scenario. Physicians need to be aware how to check that a drug treatment is compatible with breastfeeding quickly, using evidence-based sources. The drugs in this case are widely used in the immediate postnatal period yet emergency medicine teams are often unable to access readily available evidence-based information on medication and breastfeeding as quickly as they need. The information should have been readily available in guidelines or a reference source including specialist information. The wording of the BNF: “Due to the relatively high molecular weight and inactivation in the gastro-intestinal tract, passage into breast-milk and absorption by the nursing infant are likely to be negligible, however manufacturers advise avoid” needs to be updated where the manufacturer is merely not taking responsibility in licensing the product. The removal of the words “manufacturer advises avoid” makes the information read very differently to a busy practitioner’.
Shereen Fisher, Chief Executive for the Breastfeeding Network said, ‘This sad case highlights the need for mothers to be able to access skilled support in their local communities, with staff alert for symptoms needing attention; the mother in question had multiple ‘fainting’ episodes postnatally that were not investigated until day 44. This emphasises the need for health care professionals in all front-line services to understand how to treat pregnant and breastfeeding mothers – until this happens women will continue to be exposed to risk and potentially loss of life. It feels that no-one listened to the mother or observed her and her baby as a dyad as closely as they should have done, possibly because breastfeeding was seen as a barrier to medication. Women should not be disadvantaged in the management of acute illness just because they are pregnant or breastfeeding, and communication needs to be improved throughout the multidisciplinary team.’
To read more you can download the full report, lay summary and the infographic here: https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports