Change.Org Petition for Screening
The petition for screening, started by Sarah Nelson following the dealth of her son Zane, has recently passed the 20,000 signature point.
The petition has recently been updated with the following ‘update’, bringing up to date all of those signatories with the latest study outcome and ever growing evidence base for screening.
If you have not already done so, please do sign the petition today, and share with other’s who may wish to sign also.
Petition Update – 7 Nov 2026
The campaign for screening continues, and we have now passed 20,000 signatures in recent weeks. We are so grateful for the support of all of those who have signed the petition to date and wanted to bring you all up to date re the status of the campaign and next steps.
Now is a crucial time in the campaign for routine screening:-
- The RCOG is actively reviewing the clinical guidance around Vasa Praevia. Family Voice has contributed to that (directly and through the charity).
- Our charity, Vasa Praevia Raising Awareness, has in September 2026 once again submitted Vasa Praevia as a topic for review in the latest National Screening Committee ‘Call for Topics’.
- The scientific evidence base for screening is more compelling that ever; and we have and ‘International Expert Consensus’ on the need to screen.
In 2024 all 57 leading experts from the UK, and from around the globe, ALL AGREED on the following points.
- I recommend screening for VP in all pregnant persons.
- I recommend screening at the time of the anatomy scan.
- I recommend a follow-up transvaginal sonography/color Doppler imaging at approximately 32 wk in patients with a previous diagnosis of placenta previa, low-lying placenta, or VP at the time of anomaly scan.
- I recommend routine identification of the umbilical cord insertion into the placenta by transabdominal ultrasound at the time of the mid-trimester anatomy scan in all pregnant
The full tabulated list of consensus statements can viewed here:-
Table of Consensus Statement (of 57 Leading Experts)
The full paper ‘Vasa previa in singleton pregnancies: diagnosis and clinical management based on an international expert consensus’ can be viewed at
https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(24)00442-3/fulltext
This is one, of many, expert studies (a detailed list of multiple studies / papers of recent years can be found at:-
https://vasapraevia.co.uk/home/further-reading
There is now compelling evidence that the National Screening Committee’s stated reasons for ‘no screening’ are factually wrong; which families, and experts, have been highlighting for many years.
We do know how many babies are affected, and in fact is now known to be far more common than was thought when we first started this petition. When we started this petition it was thought that Vasa Praevia impacted 1 in 2500 pregnancies. We now know that it occurs in 1 in every 1218 pregnancies. This is now clearly evidenced by a study undertaken in Medway, Kent in 2023. Incidence of Vasa Praevia: a systematic review and meta-analysis (Weiyu Zhang , Tara Giacchino , Pannapat Amy Chanyarungrojn, Olivia Ionescu, Ranjit Akolekar).
We also now know that it is far more common in IVF pregnancies (1 in 200 pregnancies) and Twin (or multiple) Pregnancies (1 in 105 pregnancies). In short, Vasa Praevia is not rare.
The latest data tells us that screening, and early detection of Vasa Praevia, would prevent 160 stillbirths in the UK each year, and many more neonatal deaths.
We do have an extremely accurate means of screening for the conditions (utilising scanning equipment already in our NHS hospitals).
There is not a risk of unnecessary c-sections given any mid-trimester diagnosis is re-confirmed in the third trimester, and we know that there is not a significant risk of false positives, nor indeed is there a significant risk of false negative screening results when a screening pathways, such as those followed in Medway, are followed.
These facts, and the clear evidence base for screening has been highlighted in multiple studies over recent years; and also at a number of global conferences over recent months and years (most recently within a compelling presentation by Yinka Oyelese, MD, at the Fetal Medicine Foundation Conference in Vienna in May 2026).
We are very grateful to the leading experts who share our passion to drive forward change, and the implementation of life-saving screening across our NHS.
This Government has committed to preventing all avoidable harm. As of today we have 20,258 signatures calling for routine screening for Vasa Praevia within our NHS, and all 57 of the leading global experts also calling for routine screening.
We thank all 20,258 signatories. In memory of Zane, and the 1000’s of babies avoidably lost to Vasa Praevia, we now ask that each of you to share the petition link onwards, inviting other’s to support our campaign, and promote awareness of the condition. Please do also follow the charity on social media, for all the latest update, and for details of what else you can do to support our campaign for change (for example writing to your MP, or telling your own story).
https://www.instagram.com/vasapraeviaraisingawareness
https://www.facebook.com/vasapraeviaraisingawareness
Now really is a crucial time for family voice and it is so important that decision makers truly understand the consequences of the longstanding no-screening policy here in the UK.
Thank you again to all our supporters, and we shall ensure that you are updated as the campaign progress’. Please do follow, share, and continue to support.
