Socioeconomic and ethnic disparities in preterm births in an English maternity setting: a population-based study of 1.3 million births.

Background: Preterm birth is a major cause of infant mortality and morbidity and accounts for 7-8% of births in the UK. It is more common in women from socially deprived areas and from minority ethnic groups, but the reasons for this disparity are poorly understood. To inform interventions to improve child survival and their quality of life, this study examined the socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities in preterm births (< 37 weeks of gestation at birth) within Health Trusts in England.

Antidepressants in pregnancy: applying causal epidemiological methods to understand service-use outcomes in women and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in exposed children.

Background: Antidepressants are commonly prescribed during pregnancy, despite a lack of evidence from randomised trials on the benefits or risks. Some studies have reported associations of antidepressants during pregnancy with adverse offspring neurodevelopment, but whether or not such associations are causal is unclear.

Objectives: To study the associations of antidepressants for depression in pregnancy with outcomes using multiple methods to strengthen causal inference.

The Tommy's Clinical Decision Tool, a device for reducing the clinical impact of placental dysfunction and preterm birth: protocol for a mixed-methods early implementation evaluation study.

Background: Disparities in stillbirth and preterm birth persist even after correction for ethnicity and social deprivation, demonstrating that there is wide geographical variation in the quality of care. To address this inequity, Tommy's National Centre for Maternity Improvement developed the Tommy's Clinical Decision Tool, which aims to support the provision of "the right care at the right time", personalising risk assessment and care according to best evidence. This web-based clinical decision tool assesses the risk of preterm birth and placental dysfunction more accurately than current methods, and recommends best evidenced-based care pathways in a format accessible to both women and healthcare professionals.