The Maternity & Midwifery Hour

Series 16 - Episode 6: Listening to and engaging with our communities

Have you thought about working in a different way? Setting up an antenatal class locally or undertaking aromatherapy or complementary therapy work? Or would you like to plan this for the future… or just get better at skills in networking?

We are joined by Dr Denise Tiran and Dianne Garland who will share some of their personal experiences, strategies and top tips to help student midwives and midwives gain useful skills and greater confidence for future practice.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Dr Denise Tiran, CEO and Education Director, Expectancy

Dianne Garland, SRN RM ADM PGCEA MSc, Midwifery Consultant and Author

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

Dalvir and Barbara discuss the importance of engaging with diverse communities to improve clinical outcomes, patient experiences and research quality. They share effective strategies for community engagement, highlight success stories and offer practical guidance on how you can apply these approaches in your own clinical practice and research initiatives.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Dalvir Kandola, Consultant Midwife - Lead for Inclusivity, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

Barbara Czyznikowska, Community Engagement and Inclusion Manager, Centre for Ethnic Health Research, University of Leicester

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

Doulas provide practical, emotional and nurturing support to women and their families during pregnancy, childbirth and the early parenthood period. They may be employed privately by the woman, or may be provided for disadvantaged groups of women, whether due to financial, language issues and/or refugee status, providing support and advocacy.

In this session, Sallyann Beresford will talk about her role as a Doula, and Trudi Dawson, Director of Doula UK will discuss the UK’s number one source of information for and about doulas. Doula UK offers training, mentoring and ongoing support within the doula community to ensure positive experiences for women and families. Their offering includes the unique Doula Access Fund which can enable women who are vulnerable or disadvantaged, to receive Doula support, and improve the experience of women, babies and families.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Sallyann Beresford, Doula, Author and Antenatal Educator

Trudi Dawson Director of Engagement, 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 16 - Episode 3: Pregnancy and motherhood in criminal justice settings

What impact does prison have on pregnant and childbearing women and how does this affect society in its wider context?

Recent media reports have provided a picture of the experience women will have and deeper research and policy work by our speaker this evening, Dr Laura Abbott, Associate Professor of Research at the University of Hertfordshire, hghlights the short and long term effects of prison on women and families. Further, Laura’s work focusses on what needs to be done to improve maternity and neonatal care for women and babies and how prison staff and others can work together to improve the experience and reduce morbidity and poor outcomes.

We will also hear about The Lost Mother’s Project, the Pregnancy in Prison Partnership International (PIPPI) and the UK-wide Prison Midwives Action Group (PMAG) and recent creative work in dissemination of research through art and theatre.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Dr Laura Abbott, Associate Professor in Research, The University of Hertfordshire

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 16 - Episode 2: Consultant Midwives are critical in every crisis: A great Midwifery career - choices, directions and routes.

Being a midwife is an exciting, challenging role, where no one day is exactly the same as another. It is crucial that midwives are able to use their commitment and skills in the role that feels positive and professionally rewarding. As a profession we face the impact of difficulties with recruitment and retention, and some practitioners might feel that their current role is not fulfilling, or that they are unable to develop further.

This evening we will be looking at careers within midwifery, and how you can choose what route you take within midwifery, what planning might help you reach your goal, and options that are available to help you develop as a midwife. Patience Gyampeh, Consultant midwife and academic joins us to describe her own career pathway, and what she has learned, plus suggesting some key tips to guide you in your choices.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Patience Gyampeh, Associate Professor of Midwifery, University of Suffolk; Consultant Midwife, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

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 16 - Episode 1: Early detection, early action: Exploring Awareness of Genomic Testing at the Initial Midwifery Appointment

Genomics is fundamental to midwifery practice and is incorporated into the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s Standards of Proficiency for Midwives.

It is important that all midwives can talk about genomics with confidence. For many midwives there is a need to upskill, but it can be difficult to know where to start.

Find out more about genomics and the midwife’s role at this week’s Maternity and Midwifery Hour.

Hosted by:

Neil Stewart, Editorial Director, Maternity & Midwifery Forum

Contribution from:

Jo Hargrave, Lead Midwife, East GMSA

Marianne Quinn, Lead Midwife, South East GMSA

Karen Creed, Lead Midwife, Central and South GMSA

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 15 - Episode 12: Midwives' and Nurse-Midwives' professional identities – representing midwifery in the public realm

This episode focusses on Midwives' and Nurse-Midwives' professional identities – representing midwifery in the public realm

In this hour, we are joined by Dr Sally Pezaro, and Dr Gila Zarbiv who will share the methodology and some of the findings from one of the first studies to investigate the professional identity of midwives and nurse-midwives. This will include some consideration of how best to represent midwifery in the public realm, to society and to childbearing people and their families.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Dr Sally Pezaro, Programme Directorof the structured PhD, Coventry University

Dr Gila Zarbiv, PhD Candidate, Ben Gurion University of the Negev

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 focusses on stress, burnout and ensuring your well-being.

Being a student midwife and a midwife is a wonderful privilege, but also a demanding role, with the hurdles of stress and being able to balance work and life in your well-being. The impact of COVID-19, five years on, is also a good time to think about our well-being.

This week, we are joined by Dr Denise Tiran and Dr Gina Finnerty who will be exploring strategies for looking after yourself and the complementary therapy that is clinical hypnosis. We are also exploring recognition and strategies for reducing stress and burnout.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Dr Gina Finnerty, Visiting Fellow, University of Greenwich

Dr Denise Tiran, CEO, Expectancy

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 focusses on advanced midwifery practice – challenges and possibilities…

There has been debate and discussion for many years about advanced midwifery practice – what it is, how to aspire to it and how it may influence the quality of maternity services and experiences of women, babies and families. As midwives in the UK have increasingly developed their proficiencies, skills and scope of practice, there is an increasing need to clarify both for practitioners and women and families what ‘advanced practice means’. In this hour, we are joined by Romie Luxton and Sinead O’Kane, who will share progress on the NMC Advanced Midwifery project, and what it means for future midwives.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Romie Luxton, Advanced Practice Advisor, NMC

Sinead O’Kane, Advanced Practice Advisor for Northern Ireland, NMC

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

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) protects the public through regulating nurses and midwives in the UK. Ion the midwifery context this means ensuring that at the point of registration and onwards, midwives meet their requirements, and continue to do so through the process of revalidation, and addressing cases where there is a concern about fitness to practice. The NMC commissioned the review – The Future Midwife led by Professor Mary Renfrew, resulting in the Standards of proficiency for midwives (2019), which guide midwifery education and practice.

In this session, we are joined by Tracey MacCormack Assistant Director for Midwifery and Dr Jacqui Williams, Senior Midwifery Advisor (Education). Tracey is going to talk to us about her role at the NMC and work of the midwifery team. Jacqui will give an overview of the NMC’s current Practice Learning Review and what this means for midwifery education. We will be raising and discussing some key themes that midwifery needs to consider and what this might mean for the profession in the future.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Dr Jacqui Williams FRCM, Senior Midwifery Advisor (Education) Professional Practice, NMC

Tracey McCormack, Assistant Director for Midwifery, Professional Practice Directorate, NMC

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