Confidential enquiry as a tool in diabetic pregnancy care

The perinatal mortality for diabetic pregnancy remains five times higher than the background population. The Northern Diabetic Pregnancy Survey has, in association with the local organisation of the National Confidential Enquiry into Stillbirths and Deaths in Infancy (CESDI), selected some of the deaths in diabetic pregnancy for confidential enquiry on a regional basis. The process of the enquiry is described. As the number of cases is too small, no recommendations for management are made. An extension of this process of enquiry across England and Wales would enable the aggregated results to be published and trends or patterns in problems with care in diabetic pregnancy identified.