The NPEU is a multi-disciplinary research unit which was established at the University of Oxford in 1978.
Our mission is to conduct methodologically rigorous research to provide evidence to improve the care provided to women, babies and families during pregnancy, childbirth, the newborn period and early childhood as well as promoting the effective use of resources by perinatal health services
Giving birth in a birth centre may be as safe for some obese women who have given birth before as it is for those with a lower Body Mass Index (BMI).
A new study, published in PLOS ONE and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), has shown that, for women with a BMI between 35 and 40 who have given birth before and are otherwise healthy, planning birth in an alongside midwifery unit (AMU) can be just as safe as for women with a lower BMI.
Working with a network of midwives in AMUs across the UK, as part of the UK Midwifery Study System (UKMidSS), researchers at the NPEU, led by Dr Rachel Rowe, identified and collected information about all 1,122 severely obese pregnant women (with a BMI over 35kg/m2) who received labour care in AMUs, and 1,949 comparison women with a lower BMI who were looked after in the same units.
The Policy Research Unit in Maternal Health and Care (PRU-MHC) was established in 2010 with funding from the Department of Health and encompasses such projects as:
The NPEU Clinical Trials Unit (NPEU CTU) is a fully registered UKCRC Clinical Trials Unit and typically runs a number of large multi-centre Randomised Controlled Trials, such as:
The NPEU also conducts Social Sciences, Health Economics and Epidemiological Research (SHEER) which includes on-going influential studies such as: