Today I am talking to  Prof Lesley Page, CBE, an internationally respected voice of  midwifery!

As co-founder of #MatExp, the social movement to improve maternity experience, improving maternity is very close to my heart.  It's well known that there's a growing problem at the moment around the shortage of midwives, and other pressures. #MarchWithMidwives has been arranged to raise awareness of the issues around the country. I'm looking forward to joining my local event in Coventry. I wanted to talk to someone who I really respect and who will be able to speak freely about this important topic. Only one person came to mind. And I'm delighted she immediately said "yes", it's my enormous pleasure to introduce this week's podcast guest, the legendary Lesley Page, CBE.

Lemon lightbulbs with Lesley 🍋💡🍋

• The power of walking in other people’s shoes, seeing different perspectives
• Humanising birth, humanising  health care, what could be controversial about that?
• Core values shared across specialties
• Personalised care, dignity and respect, choice and control
• We need to support midwives (and all healthcare professionals) to be the best they can be, so they can look after others
• We are all born. This is the start of human life. There can be nothing more important.
• Learning and understanding internationally, as well as in the UK
• Childbirth is so much more than a medical event. It is the foundation of the   family, the future of society
• Continuity of carer brings relationships and trust and supports women to have choice and control
• Strong advocacy and support can help reduce health inequalities 
• It's only by having open, honest, respectful conversations between people with different viewpoints that real progress can be made
• The ‘shorthand of friendship’ makes everything work so much better
• Being on the other side of the fence is a shock when it comes to navigating complex systems! 
• You need mental space to be able to make systems change; too difficult when fire-fighting
• There is a gap between theory and practice - needs to be doable within resources available 
• The power of connections
• Creating the conditions for open and honest conversations is key
• Everyone wants to feel listened to
• We have to be able to recruit and retain staff, and keep them happy, before we can provide a top quality service
• Support staff to be the best they can be
•  Baroness Cumberlege is awesome!
• Hearing from women and families about good care and less good care, and what matters to them, is energising
• Good childbirth and maternity experience is about the next generation – the ability to form positive human relationships
• The #First1001Days and supporting new families
• People want to go the extra mile! People who are burnt out can't do this!
• The small things are the big things
• If you have the right intention, things won't go too far awry
• Whose Shoes can make a difference to patient safety internationally (Alice Ladur’s PhD work in Uganda)
• Open new conversations that need to happen; break taboos
• People need a safe space to talk
• We need to get people talking across the divide – to prevent things forking in completely different directions

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Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.

I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.

Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care.