‘Catastrophic outcomes’ threat from ‘inappropriate’ maternity tools

Hospitals are persisting with using variable methods and tools to measure the growth of unborn babies, which experts say is leading to avoidable deaths, HSJ can reveal.

Fetal growth restriction is a leading cause of stillbirth, and failure to detect it means maternity services are missing opportunities to intervene.

However, HSJ research reveals significant fragmentation in the tools used and concerns about whether some are flawed.

HSJ found that across 113 trusts with maternity services that provided information, eight different types of growth charts were used, including several with their own localised system.

Some 14 trusts continue to use in some capacity a system called Intergrowth, despite NHS England warning in December that it is flawed  for estimating fetal weight. A small number of providers persisted in using it for this purpose, and NHSE said it was “now seeking assurance” they had stopped.

Recent maternity reviews by Baroness Valerie Amos and Donna Ockenden acknowledged concerns about growth charts, but did not shed light on the huge fragmentation in the tools used.

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Source: HSJ, 14 July 2026