Infant Journal
for neonatal and paediatric healthcare professionals

Rainbow Trust welcomes House of Lords Preterm Birth Report

On the 14 November, the House of Lords Committee on Preterm Birth published Preterm birth: reducing risks and saving lives, which says that a ‘co-ordinated effort’ is ‘vital’ to reducing the number of babies being born too soon and minimise the harm caused by preterm birth.

The report confirms that the current target of reducing England’s overall preterm birth rate to 6% by 2025 will not be met and it recommends a new approach that should include a focus on reducing disparities in preterm birth rates between different groups of women and birthing people.

Rainbow Trust provides emotional and practical support to families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness. The trust’s Chief Executive Zillah Bingley says in response to the report: “We welcome this report and its recommendations and support Lord Patel’s statement that ‘improving outcomes for preterm babies and their families could also generate substantial cost savings within healthcare and education’.

“The report highlights the impact that preterm birth has on siblings and the wider family, financial strain families face with months spent travelling to hospitals and the need for emotional and practical support for families in their homes once discharged from hospital; emphasising that emotional and psychological support was ‘the area of greatest unmet need’.

“Rainbow Trust has provided vital emotional and practical support to families caring for a seriously ill child, including neonatal support for almost 40 years. And yet we still receive no central government funding while delivering ongoing substantial savings to the health and social care sector.

“We urge Government to engage with Rainbow Trust children’s charity to understand the importance of children’s social palliative care, particularly in light of the changes in national insurance contributions for charities, which may result in us supporting fewer families.”

The House of Lords Preterm Birth Committee was established in January 2024.