How important is it to be able to share and talk about issues within midwifery – the stresses, and the joys, challenges and the achievements? In this time of pandemic, rapidly growing information and changing services, it is crucial for midwives to be able to communicate and to be kept up-to-date through books, journals and, of course, social media. 

In this hour, Nat and Leah, both experienced and committed midwives, will share their experiences as midwives and as bloggers and authors. We will go through day-to-day practice, continuity of care and work-life balance... and we may even discuss physiological matters along the way! 

Episode 1 of Series 4 of the Maternity and Midwifery Hour  

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Supported by MATFLIX: www.matflix.co.uk

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

Episode 12 of Series 3 of the Maternity and Midwifery Hour

Part 1 - Reflections: A Year On 

It has been a year since the Covid-19 lockdown was commenced and Maternity and midwifery Hour participants will know that the MM Hour was designed in response to the lockdown to support midwives, student midwives and those in the maternity services, in the UK, to provide information, and continuing professional development through the pandemic. Sue will reflect on the highlights and on some of what we have learned over these hours.  

Part 2 - Unconscious Bias: Time to challenge - time for action 

The Covid-19 pandemic has identified and exacerbated inequalities in our society, and within the organisations in that society. The findings of reports such as MBRRACE indicating the huge differences in mortality for women of colour and white women, indicate that this needs to be addressed urgently within the maternity services. The major theme of systemic and personal racism and bias are being discussed with the aim of confronting both, and improving the outcomes and experience of women, babies and their families, and of midwives and maternity service workers also. In this session, Lola will raise the issues faced by black and brown women and their families, as well as for midwives and those working in the NHS.  

Hosted by: Sue Macdonald, Curator, Maternity & Midwifery Festivals; Co-editor, Mayes Midwifery  

Live contribution from: Lola Ornato, Midwife, Whittington NHS Trust  

Recorded clips from:  Mars Lord, Sarah Esegbona and Alicia Burnett.   

Supported by MATFLIX: www.matflix.co.uk

This session will share continuity of care from a midwife and new midwives' perspective, illustrating some of the demands and challenges of this approach to care, the importance of planning, and of communication between the team.  

Continuity of care; transforming maternity care for women, babies, and families. Continuity of care has been highlighted for many years as a tool to improve maternity care for mothers and babies since the work of Caroline Flint in the 1980s, and the Changing Childbirth Report in 1994 through to the Better Births and Transformation agenda.  Continuing research and evidence highlight the value of continuity of care, as an intervention that can improve care, reduce problems, and increase satisfaction with the service.  

Episode 11 of Season 3 of the Maternity & Midwifery Hour

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Association of South Asian Midwives (ASAM) is a platform for the South Asian Midwifery Workforce and birthing community. Statistics show that South Asian women and birthing people are twice as likely to die from pregnancy related issues compared to their white counterparts. Neonatal mortality is 66% more in the South Asian babies than in white babies.

Let's Look At... Postnatal Care is an opportunity for us to reflect over the last year of the Covid-19 Pandemic, and think about what we have learned, and the changes we need to see in maternity services. Many changes have been made in terms of ensuring safety of women and their babies during this time, and using technology to communicate and support women and their families.   

One area which has always been considered a ‘Cinderella’ of the service has been the postnatal period – a time when women have reported feeling ‘left to their own devices’, and a time of anxiety and stress, as they cope with the realities of being a new parent, getting to grips with establishing feeding, and may be recovering from the pregnancy and birth processes. It must also be remembered that this is also a times when mothers may still be at risk of morbidity and mortality, and midwives and others supporting them need to ensure that women and babies are safe, supported and those at risk swiftly identified and cared for.  

Episode 9 of Season 3 of the Maternity & Midwifery Hour: Let's Look at... Postnatal Care

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We are delighted to welcome Joyce Adu- Amankwah, Dr Rachel Kesse-Adu, Dr Emma Drasar who are joining the Maternity and Midwifery Hour again to address some of the complexities which face midwives and others in maternity care supporting women and families with haemoglobinopathies. This includes the issues that face women and their families, such as their choices, dealing with outcomes, potential stigma that they may face as individuals and within their wider communities, and the importance of inter disciplinary team work and communication.  

Episode 8 of Series 3 of the Maternity & Midwifery Hour: Further Challenges and Questions around Haemoglobinopathies  

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In January 2021 the latest MBRRACE report (Mothers and Babies Reducing Risk through Audit and Confidential Enquiries) was published.

In this episode of the Maternity & Midwifery Hour, we ask 2 experts to tell us what the report's findings mean for BAME women and women with epilepsy. 

Find out more about the MBRRACE Report: https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports

Episode 7 of Series 3 of the Maternity and Midwifery Hour  

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Supported by Matflix: matflix.co.uk

Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/vu-qfHMUyxQ

Episode 6 of Series 3 of the Maternity and Midwifery Hour: Nurturing Positive Mental Health During the Pandemic

Every day, healthcare professionals and the public are bombarded with information and misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines.  Join this week’s Maternity and Midwifery Hour to find out everything you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine, both for yourself and for your mums.

This session will confront the issues and give you the facts.  

Episode 5 of Series 3 of the Maternity and Midwifery Hour 

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Watch the full episode: https://facebook.com/midwiferyforum/live

Over the last few months, we have been very aware of some of the changes made in maternity services in order to ensure safety and services of women and their families, and this has impacted on women and their partners in particular.

This evening we are looking at the views and experiences of parents – first through sharing the newly published WRISK study ’Users experiences of COVID -19 maternity service changes’ – which is a Cardiff University/BPAS project, supported by the Wellcome Trust.

And then we are focussing on Dads mental health, and looking at ‘why Dads matter’, looking to support and improve the care and support for dads, and therefore the family as a whole.

Join us at 7 pm on Wednesday 27 January at this hour-long online programme with live audience Q&A to update your knowledge.

Sue Macdonald, Chair and Curator Midwifery Festival Conferences & Maternity and Midwifery Hour

Mark Williams, Campaigner, Author, Speaker, Fathers Reaching Out

Professor Julia Sanders, Professor of Clinical Nursing & Midwifery, Cardiff University