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Written question asked by Jeremy Hunt (Conservative) on Thursday, 28 January 2021, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 2 February 2021 (named day). It was answered by Nadine Dorries (Conservative) on Tuesday, 2 February 2021 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Pregnancy: Screening

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the UK National Screening Council has made on its review of the potential merits of late pregnancy ultrasounds for undiagnosed breech presentation of babies.

Answer

The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC) received a proposal to look at fetal presentation as a new screening topic as part of its annual call for topics in 2019. The proposal suggested that all pregnant women could be screened at around 36 weeks gestation using a handheld ultrasound device at routine antenatal appointments to check the positioning of the baby.

The UK NSC’s evaluation group assessed the proposal as being of relevance within the Committee’s remit and agreed that an evidence map should be commissioned to scope the volume and type of evidence available. This was noted by the UK NSC at its February 2020 meeting. The outcome of this evidence map will be presented at the upcoming UK NSC meeting on the 5 March 2021 to consider and recommend next steps.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
144978
Session
2019-21
Subjects
Pregnancy Screening Reviews Ultrasonics UK National Screening Committee
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk