About the programme

The West Midlands has embraced the PERIPrem (Perinatal Excellence to Reduce Injury in Premature Birth) programme as a vital step toward improving outcomes for preterm infants. With some of the highest birth rates in the country and a wide range of maternity and neonatal services, the region presents both challenges and opportunities for innovation in perinatal care.

By adopting the PERIPrem bundle, healthcare teams across the West Midlands are uniting under a shared vision: to reduce brain injury and mortality in babies born before 34 weeks gestation, through evidence-based, collaborative, and equitable care.

Programme ambitions

The project aims are to:

• Improve survival and reduce brain injuries in babies born before 34 weeks, through the adoption of proven clinical practices.
• Standardise care across maternity and neonatal units to reduce variation and ensure equitable outcomes.
• Foster collaboration among healthcare professionals and families to enhance care delivery.
• Build capacity for continuous improvement by training perinatal teams in quality improvement (QI) methodologies.

The implementation of PERIPrem in the West Midlands is grounded in QI methodology and supported by regional collaboration. The project is one year into a two-year cycle (April 2024 – March 2026). Funding support was provided to NHS Trusts across the Midlands through Health Innovation East Midlands and the Midlands Perinatal Network to facilitate adoption of the PERIPrem bundle. A PERIPrem Partnership Forum was PERIPrem implementation in the West Midlands Impact report 2024/25 38 established to bring together stakeholders and support continuous improvement and a Preterm Birth Lead Community of Practice was launched, alongside a series of topic-specific webinars to support clinical decision-making and knowledge sharing. Coaching and collaborative learning were also embedded to support teams in implementing the 11 interventions effectively.