Reducing the impact of preterm birth: Preterm birth commissioning in the United Kingdom

Reducing preterm birth is a priority for Maternity and Children's services. In the recent UK Department of Health publication ‘Safer Maternity Care’ the Secretary of State for Health aimed to achieve the national maternity safety ambition by pledging to reduce the rate of preterm birth from 8% to 6%. It was proposed that specialist preterm birth services should be established in the UK in order to achieve this aim. In response the Preterm Clinical Network has written Commissioning Guidance aimed to establish best practice pathways and agreed models of care to reduce variation nationally. They have been developed by clinical experts in the field, from within the UK, to provide recommendations for commissioning groups and to recommend pathways to organisations with the aim of reducing the incidence of preterm birth. Three key areas of care provision are focused on: prediction, prevention and preparation of women at high risk of PTB. This Expert Opinion, will summarise the Commissioning Guidance.