Maternity Disadvantage Assessment Tool to help midwives identify social risk factors

A new interactive Maternity Disadvantage Assessment Tool (MatDAT) will be available from the Royal College of Midwives from Wednesday 8 May. The tool will enable midwives to identify social complexities more consistently in pregnant people. It has the potential to support the provision of more personalised care and promote maternity equity.

The MatDAT, along with a care planning template and an e-training module, will be launched at The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Annual Conference which takes place in Liverpool on Wednesday 8 May and Thursday 9 May.

The tool was originally developed by midwives working for the Lambeth Early Action Partnership (LEAP). It has now been further developed and made widely available by the RCM.

Carla Stanke, Public Health Specialist, Lambeth Early Action Partnership (LEAP) explains:

“We are delighted that the Maternity Disadvantage  Assessment Tool (MatDAT), developed by the Lambeth Early Action Partnership, will now be available nationally from the Royal College of Midwives. Until now, midwives have not had a tool for assessing social needs in the same way that GPs and health visitors do.

“This new tool can be used during routine midwifery appointments to enable midwives to identify social risk factors more consistently in pregnant people, and signpost to local sources of support. Once implemented on a wider scale the MatDAT tool could positively impact maternity equity, especially for pregnant people facing social complexities. Earlier identification and support of social risk factors during pregnancy can result in fewer inequalities and greater health equity for pregnant people and their babies. LEAP is proud of this tool which supports national ambitions for more personalised, client-centred midwifery care.”

Commenting, the RCM’s Chief Executive Gill Walton said:

“While pregnancy and the perinatal period can be a happy and joyful time for some, for many women it can be an incredibly tough time. During the perinatal period women are at their most vulnerable and may require more support than they have ever needed at any other point in their life. RCM members right cross the UK have told us they are seeing more and more women with social complexities. This impact that this has on the health and wellbeing of on women and family during her pregnancy cannot be underestimated.

“MatDAT will support midwives to deliver care more woman-centred and responsive to needs. The scale of complexities means we must work in partnership with other health and social care professionals and national organisations and MatDAT will link midwives with appropriate services and external agencies for additional support when needed.”

The MatDat tool will be available on the RCM website from midday, 8 May.

LEAP delivers services in parts of Lambeth, where families and young children experience greater inequalities than the rest of the borough. Across the UK, the risk of maternal death is 3.8 times higher for women from Black ethnic backgrounds and 1.8 times higher for women from Asian backgrounds, compared with White women. Maternal mortality rates are also highest for women living in the most deprived areas. 43% of the neighbourhoods where LEAP works are classified as ‘most deprived’.  Because of the markedly higher maternal mortality risk for women living in the areas of Lambeth where LEAP works, LEAP wanted to develop a better system to improve both maternal and infant outcomes.

The MatDAT supports national ambitions for more personalised, client-centred midwifery care.

LEAP is one of five local partnerships which make up A Better Start, a national ten-year (2015-2025) test and learn programme funded by the National Lottery Community Fund that aims to improve the life chances of babies, very young children, and families.