The Maternity & Midwifery Hour

Following on from the recent Midwifery Education Conference, attended by over 250 midwifery educators, this hour will map out the current management and education challenges and highlight future developments in Midwifery Education for midwifery educators and policy makers in universities and NHS trusts.

Leading midwives Grace Thomas and Nicky Clarke will examine and discuss the rising issues in regulation, education, practice and innovation, midwifery schools’ staffing and management and research careers.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Grace Thomas, Head of Health Professions; Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Midwifery Development, Cardiff University

Nicky Clark, Lead Midwife for Education; Senior Lecturer; Chair of the NMCLME Strategic Reference Group, University of Hull

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

As part of Epilepsy Awareness month, we are using this hour to focus on the challenges faced by women with epilepsy during their pregnancy and childbirth and how midwives can provide support, advice and care to reduce morbidity and mortality.

Kim Morley, midwife specialist will provide an update on care needed by women during pregnancy and childbirth. We are also joined by Catherine Owen, from the charity Epilepsy Action, who will be sharing the work she does in supporting families and improving outcomes.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Kim Morley, Epilepsy Specialist Midwife Practitioner, Epilepsy Action

Catherine Owens, Midwifery and Epilepsy Coordinator, Epilepsy Action

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 week we are exploring an issue at home – the increase in Student tuition fees in England, and its impact on Student Midwives, plus a highlight on the work that the Royal College of Midwives has been doing to support student finance in the UK. And we are finding out, with a midwife's eye, what is happening in Ukraine.

We are joined by RCM Director for Professional Midwifery and Associate Lecturer at Robert Gordon University, Fiona Gibb, and Humanitarian Aid Worker, Wendy Warrington.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Fiona Gibb, Director, Professional Midwifery, Royal College of Midwives; Associate Lecturer, Robert Gordon University

Wendy Warrington (Wanda), Midwife, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust; Humanitarian Aid Worker, Poland and Ukraine

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

Bullying and undermining exists within many sectors and midwifery and maternity services are one area where this has been a longstanding problem - often impacting on students, on midwives and women and their care.

In this hour we are joined by experienced midwives Amanda Burleigh and Deb Hughes who will share their perspectives on bullying within midwifery, the impact on individuals and on care, how we can address it to improve the environment and experience of staff and women and families. The #Saynotobullyinhinmidwifery book, published in 2023, provides vivid and disturbing experiences of affected staff and points to the need for integrated and multi-disciplinary strategies to address bullying in a consistent and long lasting way.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Amanda Burleigh, Senior Clinical Advisor, Independent Midwifery Consultant. Registered Midwife, Registered General Nurse

Deborah Hughes, Retired Midwife

Biographies

Amanda Burleigh

Amanda worked as a clinical midwife across a range of midwifery clinical settings (including New Zealand) for 29 years, before she left clinical midwifery in 2017 due to the effects of chronic bullying.

Although Amanda is no longer employed as an NHS Midwife she remains a passionate and currently registered midwife who continues to campaign globally for safe, evidence based umbilical cord management. Amanda is the founder of the global #waitforwhite campaign and now also campaigns against workplace bullying due to her own experiences.

Amanda Burleigh is a qualified Midwife and Registered Nurse with over 30 years as a clinical Midwife. She started campaigning for optimal cord clamping in 2005. More recently, Amanda co-authored the #Saynotobullyinginmidwifery anti bullying book.

Deborah Hughes

Deborah Hughes is a retired midwife with an illustrious career behind her, most recently as Research Midwife at the University of Cambridge. She is a breastfeeding peer supporter and coordinates both the UK Afghan Midwives Support Group and The Midwives’ Haven (ARM).

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

With Sheena Byrom OBE and Marie Louise ('The Modern Midwife'). Sponsored by Active Iron.

Series 14 - Episode 6: Midwifery response to domestic abuse

As we come to the end of Domestic Violence awareness month, in this hour we explore the difficult and traumatic subject of domestic abuse, which is often triggered or increased during pregnancy and childbearing. We know that midwives are instrumental and supportive to women affected by DA, sometimes assisting them to seek help.

We are joined by Anne-Marie Tierney and Fi MacLauchlan, from leading UK charity SafeLives, who will take us through an overview of domestic abuse, what to look for as a health care practitioner, and a current project that examines the implementation of the health-based IDVA (independent domestic violence advisor) provision within NHS settings.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Ann-Marie Tierney, Lead Trainer and Assessor, SafeLives

Fi MacLauchlan, Practice Consultant, SafeLives

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

Do we really understand the needs of women who may commence their pregnancy who are living with weight issues, and how can we as practitioners support, inform and care for women in a non judgemental and constructive way?

In this hour, Julie Abayomi, Reader in Dietetics, will present recent research into the experiences of pregnant women living with obesity, and their access to antenatal care through the women and midwives. Julie will then use this research to highlight the nutrition curriculum and feedback from student midwives.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Dr Julie Abayomi, Associate Head of Medicine and nutrition, Edge Hill University

Biography

Dr Julie Abayomi

Dr Julie Abayomi is a Reader in Dietetics & Associate Head of Medicine & Nutrition at Edge Hill University. She graduated in nutrition and dietetics from Cardiff in 1993 and worked as an NHS dietitian for over 20 years, specialising in women’s health and nutrition for 12 years. In 2010 Julie was awarded a PhD based on research conducted at Liverpool Women’s hospital.

Julie is currently the chair of The British Dietetic Association (BDA) England Board and an active member of the BDA Maternal & Fertility Nutrition Specialists group.

Julie has presented at National/International conferences including Diabetes UK; The Nutrition Society; The British Dietetic Association and Mega Evento Nutricao, 2019 in Sao Paolo Brazil; The International congress of Dietetics (2021) and The European Federation of Dietetic Associations (2021). She has published papers in Nutrients; The Journal of Human Nutrition & Dietetics; The Journal of Diabetes Nursing; British Journal of Midwifery; Maternal and Child Nutrition and International Journal of quality in healthcare.

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 topical session, taking place during Baby Loss Awareness Week, Marc and Lisa will talk about the importance of high quality bereavement care to families after the death of a baby, highlight the role of the National Bereavement Care Pathway and share how Sands can support healthcare professionals in so doing.

Hosted by:

Hannah Tizard, Midwife, Midwifery Educator, Professional Midwifery Advocate

Contribution from:

Marc Harder, Head of Bereavement Care & Hospital Liaison, Sands

Lisa Rich, Healthcare Education Lead, Sands

Biographies

Lisa Rich

Lisa is an experienced Registered Midwife with a passion for reducing the risk of perinatal death and improving bereavement care for families experiencing pregnancy and baby loss. Lisa progressed her career into the field of maternity bereavement, working as a Specialist Bereavement Midwife for 5 years. Whilst leading a hospital maternity bereavement service, Lisa implemented the National Bereavement Care Pathway, gained working knowledge of the MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Mortality Review Tool, and created and delivered training and educational resources for healthcare professionals and students. Lisa is responsible for the delivery of education programmes in hospitals, universities, and other related organisations across the UK, supporting professional development, enabling continued improvements in practice and helping save babies’ lives.

Marc Harder

Marc is the Head of Bereavement Care and Hospital Liaison and has been the UK Lead for the National Bereavement Care Pathway at Sands since March 2017. The NBCP covers five experiences of pregnancy and baby loss: miscarriage, TOPFA, stillbirth, neonatal death and SUDI and has now

been adopted by every NHS Hospital trust in England and NHS Boards in Scotland. Projects in Northern Ireland and Wales are about to be launched and will help to realise the vision of high quality bereavement care across the whole of the UK. Marc’s team are also responsible for the Elaine Thorp Award for Bereavement Care which promotes excellence in practice and the Hospital Liaison Volunteer programme which links over 100 Sands volunteers with local hospitals.

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

There has been a long interest in water as a pain relief strategy, and as a place to give birth. The publication of the recent ‘POOL’ Study, led by colleagues in Cardiff alongside 26 NHS sites, investigated the safety of waterbirth for mothers and babies, and adds to the research supporting its use. In this hour, we are delighted to be joined by renowned international waterbirth midwife expert Dianne Garland, who will explore further the implications of the POOL study for midwives and student midwives in the UK, and also examine the wider use of water in the rest of the world, highlighting information and skills we need when supporting a woman who chooses a waterbirth, and suggesting further research in the whole area.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Dianne Garland, Midwifery Consultant and Author of 'Waterbirth - an attitude to care'

Biography

Dianne Garland SRN RM ADM PGCEA MSc

Qualified as a midwife in 1983,her waterbirth teaching/research has taken her all over the world, from Australia, China, United States and India. Her book “Revisiting waterbirth – an attitude to care” was published 2017.

Dianne works as an expert witness, University lecturer and maintains her clinical skills on a midwife led / consultant unit in Kent. Dianne has various roles including professional advisor in Chinese and Indian birth centres. After launching her company in 2005 www.midwifeexpert.com. her roles have expanded in the UK and abroad.

In 2018 Dianne joined the Maternity and Midwifery Forum advisory panel.

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 14 - Episode 2: Nurturing Connections: Leading Infant Feeding Services, Reviewing Baby-Friendly Evidence, and Fostering Relationships

This week's hour will focus on Research leadership of MAINN and impact/opportunities, creating coherence through connected leadership the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative, the speakers will share insights into the role of education in supporting and sustaining breastfeeding for staff and students as well as maternal and infant nutrition and nurture unit research connections and opportunities.

We look forward to welcoming you to this jam-packed hour long session with our three fantastic speakers, Sarah, Gill and host - Anna.

Hosted by:

Dr Anna Byrom, CEO & Director, All4Maternity

Contribution from:

Creating Coherence through Connected Leadership the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative

Dr Anna Byrom, CEO & Director, All4Maternity

Insights into the role of education in supporting and sustaining breastfeeding for staff and students

Sarah Johnson, Senior Lecturer and Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) Lead, University of Central Lancashire; Board member, Unicef UK BFI Qualification Board

Maternal and Infant Nutrition and Nurture Unit research connections and opportunities

Professor Gill Thomson, Maternal, parental and Infant Nutrition and Nurture (MAINN) unit, University of Central Lancashire

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