The Maternity & Midwifery Hour

The short and long term benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and their babies are well known. How can we, as midwives and health care workers, support mothers and their families to choose to breastfeed, get successful feeding established and ensure that changes are sustainable?

NHS Lothian’s DEBS Project, in partnership with the Scottish Government, provides early support for breastfeeding. This session will share the development of the project and the outcomes for the women and babies in the project.

Supported by MATFLIX: https://www.matflix.co.uk/

Register to watch the next episode LIVE:  https://mmf.eventbrite.com/

Happy New Year and welcome to Season 6 of the Maternity & Midwifery Hour! 

We find ourselves in the epicentre of a new COVID-19 storm. The recent variant has led to increased infection and sickness in the population, staff shortages, longer working hours and reduced breaks.

The first episode of the New Year will take a timely look at strategies and techniques you can adopt to boost your own wellbeing and that of your colleagues, helping you to move into 2022 stronger and more supported.

I came to Midwifery quite late in life having worked in retail for a number of years. I wanted to follow my long-time dream of becoming a midwife but did not think that there was a route for me. Then I found Direct Entry and have not looked back. I am currently a Midwifery Lecturer at Bangor University and love working with the students and out clinical midwife colleagues. Previously I worked as a midwife within Betsi Cadwaldr University Health Board in Ysbyty Gwynedd (Gwynedd Hospital) rotating between Antenatal, Intrapartum and Postnatal care. I have always held an interest in the wellbeing of colleagues and particularly in student integration into the placement environment.

Kara Davies is a community midwife in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. She will be moving to Cwm Taf Morgannwg in three weeks. Kara is a community Prompt facilitator and she is part of Midwives in Mind.

Supported by MATFLIX: www.matflix.co.uk

We have a stellar line up of LIVE speakers to see out the year - our regular host Sue Macdonald is joined by Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE, Sheena Byrom OBE, Dr Jenny Hall, Dianne Garland and Nicolette Porter.

We’ll be looking back at some of the 2021 highlights and looking forward to 2022.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Supported by MATFLIX: www.matflix.co.uk

Register for the next Maternity & Midwifery Festival: mmf.eventbrite.com

This hour, we will be looking at the power and potential of physiology around pregnancy, birth, and postnatal periods. This includes a look at how we can support normal physiology and enhance the birth experience, the golden hour, and the early life of the baby.

This includes discussion around Oxytocin (that love hormone), the labour and birth environment, skin to skin with mothers, partners, and babies, and how that can enhance the new-born physiology, infant feeding, and long-term wellbeing.

Episode 14 of Season 5 of the Maternity & Midwifery Hour

Hosted by:

Sue Macdonald, Midwifery Expert, Mayes Midwifery

Contributions from:

Dr Anna Byrom CEO and Creative Director of All4Maternity

Niamh Cassidy, Antenatal Instructor with Cuidiú Antenatal Ireland and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant

More about our speakers:

Dr Anna Byrom

I have been working with The Practising Midwife for the last three years. During that time I have supported the development of the editorial content for each journal issue and helped to create a series of associated online content. I passionate about support everyday students, midwives and maternity workers to access evidence to inform practice and care.

In 2017 I became the proud new owner of The Practising Midwife. Alongside my mummy midwife, Sheena Byrom and our partners Creativeworld, we are delighted to be the first midwifery publishers of this important practice-focused journal.

Beyond The Practising Midwife and All4Maternity I work as a Senior Midwifery Lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). I am also currently completing my doctorate exploring the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative with Professor Fiona Dykes at the Maternal & Infant Nutrition and Nurture research unit at UCLan.

I am also a busy mummy, with three children: Seamus, Betsy and William. Outside of work I love nothing better than sharing time with my family, relaxing in hot baths, reading and, when the weather holds, cycling the hills of the Ribble Valley, Lancashire.

You can find out more about me via my website - Visit my Website

Niamh Cassidy

As a Cuidiú Antenatal Ireland Antenatal Instructor & International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) I am passionate about providing evidence-based information and ensuring the families I work with are the centre of their own care. In addition to my Dip. in Antenatal Education and IBCLC qualification I am also a trained Social Care Worker. I have vast experience of working with women and families through these roles and also in my role as a volunteer breastfeeding counsellor. I believe in the power of informed decision making in pregnancy, birth, parenting and infant feeding. This means that I support parents with the information and tools that they need to make confident decisions for themselves and their babies.

I have two children and live in Baldoyle, by the sea, in North Dublin. I am FEDANT (Federation of Antenatal Educators) Registered and a member of ALCI (Association of Lactation Consultants in Ireland).

Supported by MATFLIX: https://matflix.co.uk

Register to watch the next episode LIVE or attend a Maternity & Midwifery Festival: https://mmf.eventbrite.com

Watch the live stream instead: https://facebook.com/midwiferyforum/live

This evening we are sharing two new initiatives. The first is the new Birthrights film: Speak up, Speak Out’ film, which highlights the importance of human rights in childbirth, issues around care, birth trauma and the complaints process after birth experiences.

The second is Maternal Journal, which can be a strategy to assist mothers, pregnant people and families to develop their personal reflection and new parenting skills and confidence. Join us at 7pm on Wednesday 1 December to find out more.

Hosted by:

Contributions from:

More about our speakers:

Francesca Treadaway is a senior communications and external affairs professional with over 7 years’ experience in the charity sector. Prior to joining the Birthrights team, she led on communications, campaigns and government and sector relations at the Incorporated Society of Musicians. She has also spoken at conferences, festivals and events UK-wide about gender equality and mental health. Her current focuses are the service user journey, postnatal care and informed consent. She is also currently contributing to the pan-London review of maternity services as part of the Ockenden Review. She joins Birthrights with lived experience and the drive to make a difference for all women and birthing people. Speak Up, Speak Out is Birthrights new short film which features the real life birth experiences of three women and why speaking up and speaking out can be a positive force for change.

Laura Godfrey Isaacs aspires to bring her knowledge and experience in the arts together with midwifery to bring fresh interdisciplinary perspectives to inform birth education, practice, policy and research. She regularly presents at conferences, writes and blogs about birth and creates interdisciplinary projects and campaigns, such as Maternal Journal which supports mental health and well-being through creative journaling and Birth Cafe an inclusive space to talk about the significance of birth for all. She is Ambassador for Procreate Projects, Co-Chair of the Women’s Equality Party’s Health Committee, Board Advisor of The International Forum for Wellbeing in Pregnancy, and was member of the Thought Leadership Group at the NMC reviewing midwifery education standards.

Birth, Art and Culture Blog

Twitter & Instagram: @godfrey_isaacs

Website: www.lauragodfreyisaacs.com

Supported by MATFLIX: https://matflix.co.uk

Register to watch the next episode LIVE or attend a Maternity & Midwifery Festival: https://mmf.eventbrite.com

Watch the live stream instead: https://facebook.com/midwiferyforum/live

Recorded live at the Scotland Maternity & Midwifery Festival on Tuesday 23rd November, 2021.

Cass McNamara, Chief Executive, Birthsparks Ltd. - Midwives as Innovators

Leah Hazard, Author, ‘Hard Pushed’ - Midwifing the Midwife

Watch the presentations:  facebook.com/midwiferyforum/live

COVID-19 has impacted hugely on all of us, and in particular those in the health services. Maternity Services underwent massive changes in efforts to reduce virus transmission. These changes and adaptations affected midwives, health visitors and women and their families.

In this hour, Professor Amy Brown shares some of her research into the experiences of woman and babies and midwives and health visitors who have experienced the Covid-19 pandemic, suggesting how we can move forward to ensure mothers, their babies and families are supported and cared for.

Hosted by:

Contributions from:

Supported by MATFLIX: https://matflix.co.uk

Register to watch the next episode LIVE or attend a Maternity & Midwifery Festival: https://mmf.eventbrite.com

Watch the live stream instead: https://facebook.com/midwiferyforum/live

Highlights from the Student Midwife Experience Festival 2021 

International perspective - Fran McConville, Midwifery Adviser, World Health Organisation

Keynote presentation: What we do ripples through generations - Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE, Chief Midwifery Officer for England, NHS England/Improvement

The Student Midwife Festival pre-programme - get to know everything about the festival day.  

Student Midwife Experience Festival | Wed 10 Nov, Live & On Demand | FREE | http://smef-2021.eventbrite.com/ 

We need at least 3500 more midwives in the UK, and recruitment to become a midwife remains quite strong – which can make it difficult to apply!  

In this Maternity and Midwifery Hour, we hear from two student midwives, Deepa Santhosh and Nicolette Porter who will share their personal journeys into becoming a student midwife, with some ideas and tips on settling into the programme, how to prepare for lectures, zoom sessions and clinical placements. With their candid views they cope with the highs, the lows and the challenges of being a student midwife.  

Episode 9 of Season 5 of the Maternity & Midwifery Hour  

Hosted by: Sue Macdonald, Festival Curator  

Contributions from: 

This week we’re exploring the needs and experiences of student midwives and how to enable effective learning environments to transform practice. International, national and local perspectives will be examined and plans for the future shared.

Hosted by:

Dr Anna Byrom, Creative Director, All4Maternity

Contributions from:

Caitlin Wilson, Consultant Midwife, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust/University of Worcester

Professor Jenny Gamble, Professor of Midwifery, Centre for Care Excellence, UHCW and Coventry University; Director, Transforming Maternity Care Collaborative.

Supported by MATFLIX: https://matflix.co.uk

Register to watch the next episode LIVE or attend a Maternity & Midwifery Festival: https://mmf.eventbrite.com

Watch the live stream instead: https://facebook.com/midwiferyforum/live