Euro-Peristat Newsletter: July 2019 Issue n°7

A commentary by the Euro-Peristat network published in the BJOG summarises the 280-page European Perinatal Health Report 2015 into one table and 8 principal lessons for health professionals, policy makers and families.
The commentary highlights the ways that “Euro-Peristat’s comparisons challenge health professionals and policy makers to confront shortcomings in their own countries” and raises questions about policies to improve maternal and newborn health in Europe.

In France, an editorial published jointly in the French journals of obstetrics and paediatrics expresses concerns about indicators of newborn health. In contrast, the relatively low and stable caesarean section rate is seen as reflecting initiatives among health professionals to promote evidence-based guidelines. A summary and links to the editorial can be found here.

In Scotland, Rachael Wood, Euro-Peristat's scientific committee member, identifies key messages from the report that could be used to shape action to improve maternal and newborn health. These messages relate to smoking and maternal obesity, obstetrical intervention rates and preterm birth rates. Read more here.

The ConcePTION  project aims to generate reliable evidence-based information on the safety of medications used during pregnancy and breastfeeding; it brings together 88 organizations from 22 countries, including the European Medicines Agency, drug manufacturers, academia, public health organizations, and teratology networks. These partners will work together to make better use of existing health data from routine, daily practice, to enhance methods of collecting patient-reported data, and to develop new research capabilities.