Research within our maternity services

As a teaching hospital we carry out world-leading clinical research across all parts of our hospitals, including in maternity services. Our aim is to offer every patient the opportunity to be involved in developing our research.

Take part in our research

There are many different ways that you can be involved, including volunteering to take part in a clinical research trial. If you are invited to take part by the team caring for you, you will always be given a choice. Your decision will not affect your care. Please ask your Midwifery team about taking part in research.

Research at NUH

You can find information about other research taking place at NUH on our Take Part pages.

Our research team

We are a team of midwives, research practitioners and a data clerk.  We wear red uniforms and are based at both Queens Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital.

As a leading teaching hospital, clinical research is of vital importance to the development of better health and care for our mothers and babies, as well as to the professional improvement of our doctors, nurses, midwives and health professionals.

Taking part in research 

You may be invited to take part in research during your pregnancy, delivery and/or your postnatal period. Taking part in a research study is voluntary and you are under no obligation to take part. Not taking part will not affect your care or legal rights in anyway.

You can find all the information about taking part in research at NUH on our Take Part in a trial pages. 

We may approach you during your care or your doctor may invite you to take part in one of our studies.

You can find all of the studies that are currently open at NUH on the Maternity research studies page. 

If you have not been invited to take part in a study which you think you may be eligible for please feel free to ask any member of your midwifery team and they will be able to provide you with more information.  

For more information about maternity research

If you would like more information about any of our research studies, or if you would like to take part, please email us:

Email: Maternityresearch@nuh.nhs.uk 

Current studies

Please find below a list of the studies we are currently running in maternity services at NUH.

TTTS: Twin registry aimed at answering the many questions we still have about the best way to look after women with a multiple pregnancy and their babies.

CRAFT: A study asking women who have had a caesarean section in labour, in a previous pregnancy, if they are happy for us to collect information about what happens to them in this pregnancy and their baby after birth.

GIANT PANDA: This study is looking at which blood pressure medication is best for pregnant women with high blood pressure and their babies. It compares two medications called labetalol and nifedipine. Both have been widely used in the NHS to treat high blood pressure in pregnancy for many years and are both considered safe in pregnancy.

WILL: This is looking to enrol women who have high blood pressure (hypertension) during their pregnancy. High blood pressure increases the risk of harm to the mother and to her baby, and the WILL trial is being conducted to see at how many weeks of pregnancy it is best to give birth in order to minimise this risk as much as possible.

SNAP 2: This study is aiming to improve the support that pregnant women receive to help them stop smoking. Pregnant women can use Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) to help them stop smoking and the NHS prescribes this to them for free. However, pregnant women often do not use NRT in the best possible way and this can make it less effective than it could be. Therefore, in this study, we are testing a package of support which we hope will help pregnant women make better use of NRT so, it will have a better chance of helping them to stop smoking.

GBS3: This trial is looking at whether testing pregnant women to see if they carry Group B Streptococcus (GBS) reduces the risk of infection in newborn babies compared to the current strategy in place in the UK. The current strategy in the UK is to offer antibiotics during labour to women who are considered at risk of their baby developing GBS infection (Risk Factor Based Strategy). Nottingham University Hospitals is a control site therefore we are continuing with our existing care pathways.

TRUFFLE-2: Some babies grow more slowly in the womb than expected. This is called ‘fetal growth restriction’. The slow growth can be seen on a scan. Poor growth can be a warning sign about the baby’s wellbeing. Doctors have many ways to monitor growth restricted babies, but there is no treatment in the womb; the only treatment is to deliver them. TRUFFLE is investigating the best time for this.

iGBS3: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a major cause of sepsis and meningitis in newborns and can cause premature births and stillbirths as well as infections in pregnant women. We want to find out how much antibody a woman needs to pass to her baby to protect the baby from getting GBS disease. This will help in developing a vaccine. To do this, we would like to collect a small sample of cord blood from all births. Your midwife will give you more information and ask you if you are happy to consent to this.