Preventing cerebral palsy in premature babies: the PReCePT programme
Research summary
Premature birth is the main cause of brain injury and cerebral palsy in babies. Evidence shows that babies can be protected from brain injury by giving magnesium sulfate to women who are at risk of premature birth.
In 2014 University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW), in collaboration with the West of England Academic Health Science Network (AHSN), developed a programme to increase the use of magnesium sulfate. The programme, called PReCePT (Prevention of cerebral palsy in pre-term labour) was piloted in other NHS trusts after its initial success at UHBW.
We evaluated the implementation of the PReCePT programme in maternity units across the West of England.