Watchdog suggests school pregnancy classes

(Reuters) - The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) called on Wednesday for a major overhaul of maternity services to help save the lives of mothers and babies, suggesting schools could host antenatal classes to help pregnant teenagers.

NICE said vulnerable pregnant women, such as drug users, non-English speakers, victims of domestic abuse and those under 20, often did not attend antenatal appointments.

However, the watchdog said they needed medical care the most, with women living in areas of high deprivation in England five times more likely to die during or after childbirth than those in affluent areas.

Their babies are also twice as likely to be stillborn or die shortly after birth.

"Although these women represent a small proportion of those having babies in the UK each year, they and their unborn children deserve the same level of care as anyone else," said Dr Gillian Leng, NICE's deputy chief executive.

The new guidance from NICE calls for antenatal services to be made more flexible, saying traditional services did not often meet the needs of vulnerable women.

Among the suggestions is the setting up of antenatal classes in some schools and colleges.

Britain has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Europe. Figures last year indicated that there were 41.9 conceptions for every 1,000 under-18 girls in 2007.

"Any barrier that prevents a pregnant woman from getting the care that both she and her baby need ... poses a preventable risk to both mum and baby," said Jane Brewin, chief executive of baby charity Tommy's.

"Making maternity services both accessible and able to meet the often complex needs of these women is vital in mitigating these circumstances and helping their babies be born healthy."

However, critics said NICE's plans could worsen the problem of teenage pregnancy.

"Bringing antenatal classes on to school premises runs the risk of normalising teenage pregnancy and of increasing the very problem it was intended to address," Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust, told newspapers.

"Schools exist to assist and support parents in the education of their children, not to be the panacea for every social ill."

So what do you thing pregnancy classes for the Channel Islands Schools?

I would not allow my daughters to attend such a class. School is for children.