Thrombosis UK is saddened to see from the latest MBRRACE report, covering maternal deaths between 2022 and 2024, that blood clots remain the leading direct cause of maternal death in the UK.

Since the previous report, important progress has been made. Working with NHS England, Thrombosis UK has supported the development of the Early Pregnancy Risk Assessment Tool, which helps women and healthcare professionals identify clotting risks before formal maternity booking.

However, the charity is concerned that updated guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, recommended following the 2024 MBRRACE report, has not yet been published. Thrombosis UK urges the College to prioritise the publication of updated recommendations to help ensure that pregnant women receive the best possible care.

Thrombosis UK remains committed to campaigning for improved awareness, prevention, research, and care to reduce the number of families affected by preventable blood clot-related maternal deaths.

Guidance for medial professionals on the prevention of blood clots during pregnancy and after birth is being updated by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG). The current guidance was published in 2015 and is now more than a decade old. We do not believe it is acceptable for updated guidance to have taken this long, given the importance of preventing blood clots during pregnancy and after birth.

Thrombosis UK is calling for the updated guidance to be completed and published as soon as possible. Together with Alicia Kearns MP, we have raised the importance of this with the RCOG President and will continue to press for the new guidance to be published without further delay.

In the meantime, RCOG has published an interim statement to support greater consistency between the existing 2015 guidance and the NHS England/Thrombosis UK early pregnancy risk assessment tool.

The interim statement includes updated advice on the dosing of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), bringing this in line with the approach used in the Thrombosis UK early pregnancy tool. It also adds a BMI of more than 50 to the risk assessment tool, with this risk factor scoring four points throughout pregnancy.

We welcome these interim changes, which should help improve consistency in practice. However, they are not a substitute for comprehensive, up-to-date guidance. We will continue to press for the updated guidance to be completed and published as a matter of urgency.

Thrombosis UK’s response:

Our thoughts are with Sir Richard Branson and his family following the tragic death of his wife, Lady Joan, from a blood clot.

Blood clots can be life-threatening, but many hospital-associated clots can be prevented. This is why Thrombosis UK has spent decades working to improve awareness, prevention and care for people at risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Our campaigning helped secure the introduction in 2010 of a national requirement for patients admitted to hospital to be assessed for their risk of developing a blood clot. Where a patient is identified as being at increased risk, appropriate measures, including preventative anticoagulants where clinically indicated, can significantly reduce the risk.

This is an important advance, but having guidance and requirements in place is only part of the challenge. We need to ensure that risk assessment and prevention happen consistently, and that patients and healthcare professionals understand the risks and know what can be done to prevent these devastating events.

Lady Joan’s death is a tragic reminder of why this work matters. Thrombosis UK will continue to campaign for better prevention, raise awareness of the risks of blood clots and support patients and healthcare professionals with trusted information and education.

At Thrombosis UK, we were delighted to see Alicia Kearns MP raise the vital issue of blood clot prevention and care during pregnancy through a series of detailed written parliamentary questions. Ensuring that women receive appropriate risk assessment, timely diagnosis, and effective prevention measures is essential, given that blood clots remain a leading cause of maternal death.

As an organisation dedicated to improving awareness and patient outcomes, we welcomed the opportunity for greater parliamentary scrutiny of this important issue. However, we were disappointed by the responses provided, which we feel did not fully address the challenges faced by women at risk of thrombosis during pregnancy and the postnatal period.

We remain committed to working with policymakers, healthcare professionals, and patients to improve awareness, prevention, and standards of care. We would welcome more detailed responses from Yvette Cooper MP and her new team. You can read the parliamentary questions and responses in full here: https://members.parliament.uk/member/4805/writtenquestions.

A woman who died a day after being discharged from hospital would have survived if a blood clot had been diagnosed and treated, a coroner has said.

This tragic case highlights the importance of self-advocacy in healthcare. If you are concerned about your care, feel your symptoms have not been fully heard, or need support to speak up, you have the right to ask questions, raise concerns, and seek a second opinion. Our webpage, Self Advocacy | Thrombosis UK, outlines practical steps you can take and where to find support.

Alicia Kearns MP said in a debate on healthcare in pregnancy following the Amos and Ockendon reports, on Tuesday 30^th June

“This week last year, I had multiple pulmonary emboli only a few weeks after giving birth. I am very grateful to Dr Laura Stephens, who saved my life and then was punished for ordering the test which found the emboli. Blood clots are the No. 1 cause of death in pregnant and post-partum women, and yet there is not a word about their risk in any pregnancy pack given out in this country. The national action plan will fail if it does not tackle blood clots as the No. 1 cause of maternal deaths. Will the Health Secretary kindly meet me and work with me, so that together we can save lives?”

A new study, external published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, has found that taking five-minute breaks—referred to as “movement snacks”—every hour is one of the most effective and practical ways to improve wellbeing without reducing productivity.

Professor Beverley Hunt emphasised the importance of this advice: ‘We were thrilled to see this advice on the news as a result of research. The risk of DVT increases with prolonged sitting and sitting for hours immobile at work is not a good idea. We feel this advice is excellent to prevent DVT and also probably helps those with post thrombotic syndrome.’

An AI tool is no replacement for a doctor, and regulation is essential. But together, physicians and AI could prove beneficial.

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