Manchester Mum Urges Pregnant Women To Support Clinical Trial

Written by Harry Turnbull

The NHS is seeking volunteers for a trial to combat anaemia in pregnant women.

It is thought one in three pregnancies are blighted by iron deficiency which can lead to a variety of problems including stillbirth, haemorrhaging and post natal depression.

The PANDA trial is now open to women who are in the first sixteen weeks of pregnancy. Those who join will be given either iron supplements or placebo tablets to take every day throughout their pregnancy and until six weeks after birth.

Natalie Higham-James, 31, a university researcher and mum of two from Manchester, had anaemia in her second pregnancy, in 2024. She says:

“Whilst neither of my pregnancies had been straightforward, I assumed my second seemed so much harder day-to-day because I was also juggling a toddler and had been struggling with gestational diabetes and severe acid reflux. I felt exhausted all the time and was unable to do the most basic tasks like play with my three-year-old, take the dog for a walk and some days even walk up the stairs without having to stop for breath. I was utterly miserable and desperate for my baby to just get here.

“It was during blood tests for my dietary issues that my iron levels were checked and found to be dangerously low, so at 37 weeks I was diagnosed with severe anaemia and I had to undergo two iron infusions. I was told that without, there was an increased risk of me haemorrhaging during birth – not something any late term pregnant woman wants to hear.

“The difference in energy I felt after the infusions was remarkable. Had the anaemia been spotted earlier or prevented from the outset, I believe I would’ve had a much easier pregnancy, both physically and mentally.

“The PANDA study is really important – we need to be looking at ways to prevent anaemia rather than just treat it, often too late, so that women can feel their best throughout pregnancy. Being pregnant is difficult enough, so anything that’s going to help ensure that both mother and baby are at their best, is well worth exploring.”

Professor David Churchill, Lead Consultant Obstetrician at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Obstetrics lead on the PANDA trial, says: “Any obstetrician is always looking to reduce the risks of preterm birth, growth insufficiency in babies and stillbirths. To think that a simple and cheap intervention, like a single iron tablet a day, could have such a big impact for thousands of women and their babies is remarkable. It is testament to how important it is to carry out this trial and finally come to a definitive answer.”

Women can ask their healthcare professional for more information or further information can be found here: https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/clinical-trials-unit/trials-and-studies/blood-and-transfusion/panda/

About the author

Harry Turnbull is an experienced journalist based in the north who has held a variety of reporting and editing roles in the media. Harry also writes a reviews column for the UK’s biggest archive of BBC radio dramas.