Today I am talking to a ‘Fab Obs’. 

#FabObs is the hashtag  we use in our #MatExp social movement - an obstetrician who ‘gets it’. Listening to what matters to women.

 Finding ways to prioritise, obviously, the safety of mother and baby, but really listening to women – and indeed helping them tease out the choices and  birth options.

 And today that #FabObs is Alison Wright. Alison is the immediate past Vice-president of the RCOG  (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) – a big advocate for the RCOG women’s network, embedding women’s voices into every aspect of the college‘s work. Forward-thinking and exciting.

 Alison has led the development of ‘I decide’ - a tool enabling women  to think through choices and decisions in labour.

As well as being a  champion of maternity experience, Alison is also ‘just’ an everyday ‘Obs and gynae’ doctor.

Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋

• LISTENING to women and families throughout their birth journeys and pregnancy
• Providing personalised care in maternity services, in times of staffing pressures and recruitment difficulties
• Personalised care means different things to different people
• Teasing out what matters to you -  #WMTY
• Being honest with women, sharing  information about difficult topics eg anal sphincter tears
• Largely, women want to know what might happen. Don’t assume  they don’t
• Information is key! It gives  controll
• Creative methods useful for sharing information and breaking down barriers to engagement
• Tim Draycott’s innovative work on the Odan device
• ‘I decide’? -  a clever acronym - check it out! Nadine Montgomery ruling re informed consent
• Shoutout for Florence Wilcock, champion of personalised care; co- founder of #MatExp 
• Involving Maternity Voices Partnerships and NHS Resolution in teasing out the future
• Should we be looking to solve problems in the short or  long term?
• The RCOG Women’s Network is influential
• Perceived tensions between what women want and what clinicians want. Actually, we all want the same thing!
• Shadowing other healthcare professionals is really useful -  (mutual) shadowing an antenatal teacher
• #NoHierarchyJustPeople is a key #MatExp mantra
• Blue light - the Obs Pod Emergency!
• Family Integrated Care - new #WhoseShoes work 😀
• Let’s encourage all obstetricians to get involved! To have a seat at the table!
• Ask the obstetrician 🍋💡🍋
• Relationships matter. Form a relationship with your obstetrician
• People don’t like the unexpected - easier to deal with if you know what might happen
• “If you start being a patient advocate, you ’ll never have a career in medicine!“
• ⏩ Huge shift in thinking! Bring together the patient experience and the clinician’s experience through coproduction
• Important not to swing too far  ⏩ everyone has choice, do whatever you like! 😬
• No dumping! Healthcare professionals need to accept responsibility, to steer choice sensibly
• Informed choice. But make it realistic. What would you do in my position?
• Clinicians have responsibility to give  evidence from their experience, their opinion.
• We’re all on the same side! Let’s work together! Obstetricians are a key part in this!

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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.

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