About Listen2Baby
Why is Listen2Baby important?
For women who are at low risk of complications during labour and birth, UK guidance recommends that midwives monitor the baby's heart rate using a hand-held fetal stethoscope or ultrasound device.
National guidance recommends that midwives listen to the baby's heart rate straight after a contraction for at least one minute. The heart rate should be monitored and recorded every fifteen minutes during the first stage of labour, and every five minutes in the second (pushing) stage. National maternity investigations and reviews have identified problems with the way IA is sometimes carried out in practice, which have contributed to death or severe injury in babies. These problems include IA not being carried out at the right time or often enough; the baby's heart rate not being recorded properly; and midwives not recognising or acting on concerns about the baby's heart rate.
Although national guidance describes how IA should be carried out, before Listen2Baby there was limited evidence about how IA was used in everyday maternity care, what made it difficult for midwives to follow recommended practice, and how services could best support improvements.
Listen2Baby has helped address these evidence gaps. The research has provided new insights into how IA is carried out in practice, the factors that help or hinder recommended care, and approaches that maternity services can adopt to support improvement.
These findings respond to priorities identified in national maternity reviews and have informed the development of practical resources to support evidence-based IA care for women and babies.