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Showing results for tags 'Midwife'.
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EventuntilThe Royal College of Midwives education and research conference 2022 - Ensuring every voice is heard: promoting inclusivity in education, research and midwifery care This exciting annual conference is aimed at all those involved or interested in midwifery education and research and the overall theme is promoting inclusivity in research and education. The conference is free for RCM members and £75 plus an admin fee for non-RCM members. The objectives of the conference are to: Give a platform to midwifery researchers and educators to highlight their work and spread understanding of their findings and of good practice Provide an opportunity for midwifery researchers and educators, those aspiring to be researchers and educators and others working in the maternity field to build their professional networks Enable those attending to learn about the latest evidence and innovations in midwifery education and research, particularly in relation to promoting inclusivity and reducing inequalities in midwifery education, research and practice. The conference has shared plenary sessions which include both education and research and breakout parallel sessions that focus on either education or research. The conference will have both invited speakers and those who have submitted an abstract that has been accepted for presentation. There will also be panel discussions for audience Q&As and practical workshops on literature searching and writing for publication. Overall conference themes The contribution of midwifery education and research to reducing inequalities and improving inclusion in maternity care, Hearing lesser heard voices to improve education, research and practice, Embedding the future midwife standards in education, research and practice Supporting the mental health of midwives, maternity staff, educators, student midwives and the women and families we serve. Book a place
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EventuntilJoin us for a series of free online webinars brought to you by Bolt Burdon Kemp’s specialist Women’s Health Team to help raise awareness of racial inequality in maternal healthcare. Hear from leaders and influencers in maternal healthcare, focusing on changes required across the profession to improve the level of care provided to those who identify as ethnic minority mothers and birthing people. We have a fabulous line up of expert speakers and each webinar will be followed by a Q&A session. Come and join us for a chance to contribute to the discussion and share experiences. This webinar will be led by Natasha Smith, Founder of Eden’s Script and Benash Nazmeen, Practising Midwife. To register, please email webinars@boltburdonkemp.co.uk - you will be sent a Zoom invite with joining details nearer the time.
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EventuntilJoin us for a series of free online webinars brought to you by Bolt Burdon Kemp’s specialist Women’s Health Team to help raise awareness of racial inequality in maternal healthcare. Hear from leaders and influencers in maternal healthcare, focusing on changes required across the profession to improve the level of care provided to those who identify as ethnic minority mothers and birthing people. We have a fabulous line up of expert speakers and each webinar will be followed by a Q&A session. Come and join us for a chance to contribute to the discussion and share experiences. This webinar will be led by Mars Lord, Doula Educator and Birth Activist. To register, please email webinars@boltburdonkemp.co.uk - you will be sent a Zoom invite with joining details nearer the time.
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EventuntilJoin us for a series of free online webinars brought to you by Bolt Burdon Kemp’s specialist Women’s Health Team to help raise awareness of racial inequality in maternal healthcare. Hear from leaders and influencers in maternal healthcare, focusing on changes required across the profession to improve the level of care provided to those who identify as ethnic minority mothers and birthing people. We have a fabulous line up of expert speakers and each webinar will be followed by a Q&A session. Come and join us for a chance to contribute to the discussion and share experiences. This webinar will be led by Elsie Gayle, Midwife and will include lived experience from a Pakistani mother To register, please email webinars@boltburdonkemp.co.uk - you will be sent a Zoom invite with joining details nearer the time.
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EventGroup B Strep is the leading cause of meningitis in newborn babies in the UK. Two babies a day develop GBS infection, one baby dies every week and one baby survives with disability. The UK’s rate of group B Strep infection in infants is double that of other developed countries, despite guidelines being in place since 2003. This FREE webinar will give you key information on group B Strep and the current guidelines, the very latest news about the ground-breaking GBS3 trial (an RCT of routine GBS screening), and suggestions of how to tackle the challenges GBS poses for midwives today. There will also be a 30-minute Q&A session for you to ask your own questions of our panel of experts. Please register here to attend the event.
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Content Article
In this blog, student midwife Sophie Dorman describes some of the issues that have led to a chronic shortage of midwives, including a culture of fear, poor pay and conditions and a lack of basic facilities for maternity staff. She highlights the impact this is having on the safety of maternity services and argues that valuing and looking after midwives will make pregnancy and childbirth safer and better for everyone. -
Content ArticleThis report by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Muslim Women and the Muslim Women's Network UK aimed to investigate the maternity experiences of Muslim women in the UK, particularly from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds. It aimed to better understand the factors that influence the standard of maternity care Muslim women receive, and to determine whether this may be contributing to poorer outcomes for them and their babies. 1,022 women completed surveys and 37 women were interviewed for the research. The study focused on the care given throughout pregnancy in the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal periods. Experiences of sub-standard care were analysed to find out: whether they were associated with the women’s intersecting identities such as ethnicity, religion and class. whether attitudes were due to unconscious bias (for example, negative stereotypes or assumptions) or conscious action (for example, microaggressions). what role (if any) organisational policies and practices played. Particular attention was paid to how near misses occurred as this information could help to save lives of mothers and babies. To show what good practice looks like, positive experiences were also highlighted.
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Content ArticleThe maternity services at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust share their infographic which informs their staff of the 15 Immediate and Essential Actions from the Ockenden report and the action plan needed to implement these.
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Content ArticleDerek Richford shares Harry's Story from last year's HSJ Patient Safety Congress. Derek is grandfather of Harry Richford who died seven days after an emergency delivery at East Kent Hospitals Trust. Derek is joined by Donna Ockenden, Chair of the Independent review of maternity services at Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital, and Sarah-Jane Marsh, Chair of NHS England's Maternity transformation programme, in the 'Actioning recommendations from the Ockenden report' session at the Congress.
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Royal College of Midwives: Re:Birth summary report 2022
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Maternity
In every aspect of our lives, language matters – and in health and care settings, it’s even more important. How we communicate with each other can determine the quality and impact of the care given and received, which is why developing a shared language is so important. Pregnancy and birth are extraordinarily personal, and personalising care is central to good outcomes and experience. There has been a great deal of debate in recent years about the language around birth, and the impact it can have. During this project from the Royal College of Midwives, for example, women said terms such as ‘failure to progress’ or ‘lack of maternal effort’ can contribute to feelings of failure and trauma. There has been particular debate around the term ‘normal birth’. Despite being the term used by organisations including the International Confederation of Midwives and the World Health Organization, it has often taken on negative connotations in the UK, and particularly in England. In 2020, the Royal College of Midwives, which counts the majority of midwives practising in the UK among its membership, took the decision to address this, and to try to develop an agreed shared language, working with maternity staff, users of maternity services and others involved in the care and support of pregnant women and families. Over the course of 18 months, the consultation has involved nearly 8,000 people from across all four UK nations. How we use language inevitably evolves over time, but the Re:Birth project will help to embed a shared, respectful way of discussing labour and birth. -
Content ArticleMidwives and other healthcare professionals are an integral part of many bereaved parents’ birth story and can play an important role in caring for parents when their baby dies. In this blog, Clare Worgan, Head of Training and Education at the charity Sands, talks about the importance of bereavement care to parents, and how training helps healthcare professionals to better provide this care. She outlines five principles of bereavement care and talks about why Sands is calling for bereavement care training to be provided to all staff who come into contact with bereaved parents.
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Content ArticleIn this article for The Guardian, Dr Kara Thompson, an obstetrician and gynaecologist working in the public hospital system in Geelong and Melbourne, Australia, argues that women must be given clear and unbiased information in order to make informed decisions about their birth preferences. She highlights the case of an information brochure about caesarean birth published on the website of a hospital in New South Wales, which presented incorrect claims about the relative risks presented by vaginal and caesarean birth. She outlines how the leaflet indicates that the way women are informed about birth choices is still subject to fear-mongering and shaming, and highlights the need for healthcare workers to respect maternal choice and autonomy.
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Content ArticleIn this Editorial for the journal Midwifery, maternity experts come together to respond to the Ockenden review and discuss what went wrong and what needs to happen now.
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Content ArticleThe recent NHS staff survey showed worrying results across all staff groups, but it was midwives who reported the sharpest decline in how satisfied they are in their work. Lucina Rolewicz takes a closer look at their responses to the survey, and emphasises the importance of improving the situation.
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Content ArticleThe International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) aims to strengthen Midwives Associations and advance the profession of midwifery globally. These resources from the ICM provide guidance for midwives on: Policy and practice Advocacy Education Regulation Association Covid-19 Respectful maternity care Mentoring
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Content ArticleUnsafe maternity care has cost the National Health Service in England (NHS) £8.2bn in 15 years. How many more surveys of women’s experiences, reports of poor quality care and failings of senior management at NHS maternity units do we need to know that there is still a massive problem with maternity services in England? Judy Shakespeare, Elizabeth Duff and Debra Bick discuss why a joined-up policy and investment in maternity services is urgently needed.
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The State of the World's Midwifery 2021
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Maternity
The State of the World’s Midwifery (SoWMy) 2021 builds on previous reports in the SoWMy series and represents an unprecedented effort to document the whole world’s Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Adolescent Health (SRMNAH) workforce, with a particular focus on midwives. It calls for urgent investment in midwives to enable them to fulfil their potential to contribute towards UHC and the SDG agenda. -
Content ArticleMidwives, public health nurses and practice nurses are in an ideal position to address mental health and emotional well-being with women in the perinatal period. However, research involving midwives, public health nurses and practice nurses in Ireland indicates that there is considerable variation in perinatal mental health assessment and care. All three groups identify the following issues as barriers to addressing perinatal mental health issues: Lack of knowledge on the range of perinatal mental health problems Lack of skill in opening a discussion and developing a plan of care with women Organisational issues, such as lack of policies, guidelines and care pathways This document produced by the Irish Health Service Executive, aims to provide an evidence-based guidance document for midwives, public health nurses and practice nurses in the area of perinatal mental health care.
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Content ArticleIn this blog, Charlotte Clayton, midwife and clinical advisor at the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA), explores how providing the right training and support for maternity staff is key to seeing the benefits tech can bring to quality of care and workload.
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Content ArticleRacism is unacceptable and it has no place in health and care. But we know that it exists and that the impact on staff can be devastating. All registered professionals have responsibility under the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code to challenge discriminatory behaviour, creating an environment where people are treated as individuals and with dignity and respect. This resource is firmly rooted in our professional Code and it is designed to support nurses, midwives and nursing associates, providing advice on the action you can take if you witness or experience racism. It also supports those in leadership roles to be inclusive leaders. This document provides practical examples of how, as nursing and midwifery professionals, you can recognise, and challenge racial discrimination, harassment, and abuse. It also highlights other useful resources and training materials that will support you to care with confidence. This document is a resource for individuals at all levels. This resource does not replace existing NHS England policies and procedures for speaking up and managing racism. It is a resource to support best practice in line with organisational policies and procedures.
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Content ArticleAppreciative Inquiry (AI) is a research approach that aims to create practical and collaborative change by taking participants through an in-depth exploration of their organisation, team or role. This article in the European Journal of Midwifery reflects on the process of using AI in a study that explored staff wellbeing in a UK maternity unit. The authors share key lessons to help others decide whether AI will fit their research aims, and highlight issues in its design and application.
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Content ArticleIn this article for The Times, Deborah Ross describes her negative experience of NHS maternity care during and after labour, and how this has put her off having more children. During her 72-hour labour and subsequent hospital admission, she was denied pain relief, did not feel listened to and was not informed as to why her baby had been transferred to NICU.
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Content ArticleReports showing that babies and mothers died or were harmed as a result of failures by, and sometimes heartless cruel treatment in, NHS maternity units are becoming worryingly common. Dr Bill Kirkup’s just-published 192-page exposé of an appalling catalogue of failings at East Kent NHS trust between 2009 and 2020 is the second in the last 12 months. As many as 45 babies and 23 mothers in East Kent died avoidably during that time because their care was substandard, his inquiry found. March brought Donna Ockenden’s grim findings about poor maternity care at the Shrewsbury and Telford trust. And Kirkup produced the first detailed exposition of what inadequate care of women and their offspring during childbirth looked like when in 2015 he laid bare “serious and shocking” lapses in care at Morecambe Bay trust. A fourth official inquiry, again being led by Ockenden, is under way into death, brain damage and other horrendous outcomes at the Nottingham trust. Families affected claim that, despite coroners’ findings, close scrutiny of the trust by regulators, media coverage of lapses in care and pressure for change, “babies, mothers and their families continue to be harmed”. No wonder Rob Behrens, the NHS Ombudsman, says: “The phrase ‘never again’ is starting to ring hollow.”
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Content ArticleThis article by Carrie Murphy looks at the practice of inserting a 'husband stich' or 'daddy stitch', where midwives or obstetricians make an unnecessary extra stitch when repairing episiotomies or tearing from birth. The belief is that it will make the vaginal opening tighter and therefore increase pleasure for the woman's sexual partner. The author highlights that this is a real practice that has been carried out on women for many years, and describes the ongoing impact it can have on women affected, many of whom don't realise they have been given too many stitches. This misogynistic and unethical practice can cause additional pain for women during sex. The women featured in this article state that they did not consent to the practice, being vulnerable after childbirth and in many cases unaware of what a 'husband stitch' was. Angela Sanford reports only finding out that she had a 'husband stitch' five years after birth at a cervical screening appointment where the nurse expressed concern. Murphy expresses her concern that the practice may still be carried out without women's consent, leaving them feeling violated and in pain.
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Content ArticleThis joint report by the APPG on Baby Loss and the APPG on Maternity is a culmination of over 100 submissions to an open call for evidence from staff, service users and organisations, on the maternity staffing crisis. It paints a picture of a service that is at breaking point and staff that are over-worked, burnt out and stressed.
