The Maternity & Midwifery Hour

Issues around labour and birth and the development of maternal infant attachment and bonding has been an area of interest to parents and also to midwives in supporting parents in their journey to parenthood.

In this session, we are joined by author and midwife, Laura Godfrey-Isaacs, who will be discussing her graphic guide for parents, which midwives may also find helpful in expanding parents’ feeling of preparation and access to information.

We then move the focus to mothers' individual birth experiences and the early development of mother-infant bonding which have long been of interest to parents and to midwives. We are joined by psychologist, researcher and educator, Dr Carmen Power, who will be talking about the impacts of physiological and psychological aspects of labour and birth on the mother's mental health, her baby's early behaviour and early communications between baby and mother, providing some key areas that the midwife can develop to support the process of bonding.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdonald

Contributions from:

Dr Carmen Power, Psychologist writer, researcher, educator and consultant

Laura Godfrey-Isaacs, Artist, Midwife, Writer & Creative Producer

The UN intends for women and girls to not only survive, but thrive, and, in the process, transform their life chances and those of their communities. However, the focus in maternity care in the uk is more specific, on safety and survival without trauma. While this is important, it does not capture the ‘personalisation’ - thriving and transforming- part of the picture. One way of building potential to add this other critical dimension to the service we provide is to research in this space. The presentation will look at what kinds of questions midwives could ask; what kind of evidence is currently being generated in this area; how to build research capacity to answer future questions - and, briefly, what steps could be taken to put the research we have into practice.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdonald

Contributions from:

Soo Downe, BA(Hons), RM, MSc, PhD, OBE, University of Lancashire

Hosted by:

Sue Macdonald, Midwifery Expert; Host and Curator, Maternity and Midwifery Festivals/Midwifery Hour, Editor, Mayes Midwifery

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: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://facebook.com/midwiferyforum/live

This episode will be focusing on the lived midwifery experience of implementing this genetic testing within the existing Gestational Diabetes care pathway to ensure consistency and equity of access.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdonald, Midwifery Expert; Host and Curator, Maternity and Midwifery Festivals/Midwifery Hour, Editor, Mayes Midwifery

Contribution from:

Nicola Young, RN RM. Project Lead (Monogenic Diabetes), North East and Yorkshire Genomic Medicine Service

Becky Lambert-Pitts, Project Lead, North East and Yorkshire Genomic Medicine Service. Currently working as a Lead Specialist Midwife

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: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://facebook.com/midwiferyforum/live

Series 17 - Episode 9: Educating Future Midwives

This week’s episode will feature two key presentations from the Midwifery Education Conference that took place earlier in the day at De Montfort University.

Nicky, former LME at the University of Hull and now a freelance Educationalist, will set out the challenges ahead and Angela will give an insight into the role of new technology in teaching.

Chair:

• Sue Macdonald, Midwifery Expert; Host and Curator, Maternity and Midwifery Festivals/Midwifery Hour, Editor, Mayes Midwifery

Trouble Ahead – Midwifery Education Overview

• Nicky Clark, Freelance Midwife Educationalist

Improving Patient Safety in Maternity Through Immersive Simulation Technology

• Angela Ayuk, Fetal Wellbeing Lead Midwife, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Nicky Clark

Nicky Clark is the Chair of the NMC Lead Midwife for Education Strategic reference group, which is an active stakeholder group for midwifery education across the UK.
She qualified as a registered general nurse in 1982 and as a midwife in 1986 and has been in midwifery education since 1990 working in several institutions. Nicky has been the Lead Midwife for Education at the University of Hull since 2008. She has undertaken many national and international external collaborations, working in the UK and across Europe and Asia providing expert advice on programme approvals in midwifery, and also undertaking institutional quality assurance reviews across the UK and Croatia. She is a NMC quality assurance visitor and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Nicky has been, and continues to be, actively involved at a strategic level in national developments within midwifery.
Nicky is extremely passionate about midwifery and is totally committed to ensuring quality and excellence in the education of all those who experience it.

Angela Ayuk

Angela is a strong professional with a demonstrated history of working in maternity care, clinical research and the charity retail industry. Skilled in Midwifery, project management, and research delivery.. Graduated from Oxford Brookes University.

This week we are exploring a project (The PANDA project) aimed at preventing maternal anaemia to avoid preterm labour and birth in order to reduce adverse outcomes for women and their babies. The PANDA project is a phase III, multi-centre, randomised placebo-controlled trial of oral iron supplementation for the prevention of maternal anaemia, and it is planned to recruit over 11,000 participants across more than 40 NHS hospitals in England and Wales, making it one of the largest maternity trials of its kind.

We are joined by Professor David Churchill who will be discussing maternal anaemia, why it matters and how it is being currently managed, and then moving into a presentation of the PANDA study, and how practitioners can learn more and get involved.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdonald, Midwifery Expert; Host and Curator, Maternity and Midwifery Festivals/Midwifery Hour, Editor, Mayes Midwifery

Contributions from:

Professor David Churchill, Consultant Obstetrician (Maternal & Fetal Medicine), Royal Wolverhampton, Professor of Obstetrics, University of Wolverhampton

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: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://facebook.com/midwiferyforum/live

Contribution from: Dr Jacqui Williams, Senior Midwifery Advisor (Education), Professional Practice Directorate, Nursing & Midwifery Council

The NMC has worked with key stakeholders to develop these principles to respond to queries that midwives have raised with us in regard to choices women are making.

The session will cover principles from the perspective of the woman, the midwife, the employer and the NMC.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdonald, Midwifery Expert; Host and Curator, Maternity and Midwifery Festivals/Midwifery Hour, Editor, Mayes Midwifery

Contributions from:

Dr Jacqui Williams, Senior Midwifery Advisor (Education), Professional Practice Directorate, Nursing & Midwifery Council

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: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://facebook.com/midwiferyforum/live

In this week’s hour we are exploring the experiences and perspectives of doulas working within the UK maternity services and privately employed. We are joined by Dr Amanda Hutcherson who is presenting her research into how training as a birth supporter impacts on women’s lives and identities. We welcome Trudi Dawson from DoulaUK who highlights the different pathways into becoming a doula and the updating requirements.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdonald, Midwifery Expert; Host and Curator, Maternity and Midwifery Festivals/Midwifery Hour, Editor, Mayes Midwifery

Contributions from:

Amanda Hutcherson, Midwifery Educationalist

Trudi Dawson, Doula, Doula UK

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: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://facebook.com/midwiferyforum/live

Series 17 - Episode 5: The empty crib: loss and bereavement in pregnancy and childbirth

Featuring Lauren Petrie, Specialist Bereavement Midwife, Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea Hospital

This week, as we come to the end of baby loss week, our focus is on mothers and families who lose a baby at whatever stage of their pregnancy and, importantly, what midwives can do to support them through this time and beyond.

Our guests will discuss how midwives can support mothers and families through the loss of their baby, through to looking ahead to consider future hopes and plans.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdonald, Midwifery Expert; Host and Curator, Maternity and Midwifery Festivals/Midwifery Hour, Editor, Mayes Midwifery

Contributions from:

Lauren Petrie, Specialist Bereavement Midwife, Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea Hospital

Series 17 - Episode 4: Collaboration in Action – towards Better Births together

This session will be a chance to discuss the collaborative efforts of Make Birth Better to address the challenges facing maternity and perinatal care by building on the strength of grass root, charitable and shared-commitment organisations to work towards ensuring quality, safe and rights-based care for all who choose to access maternity and perinatal care services.

MaM Birth Collective Meets Make Birth Better

Come and join Dr Anna Byrom, CEO of All4Maternity as she hosts our upcoming Maternity and Midwifery Hour where she will be joined by Make Birth Better CEO, Laura-Rose Thorogood. Together they will share insights into the collaborative work they are engaged in working towards better births for all who access midwifery, maternity and perinatal care. This is your chance to learn more about the work of Make Birth Better and the Midwifery and Maternity Birth Collective and consider ways we can all move towards better births together, through collaboration.

Contributions from:

Dr Anna Byrom, CEO, All4Maternity

Laura-Rose Thorogood, CEO, Make Birth Better