The Maternity and Midwifery Hour is a regular weekly event, discussing all things midwifery! It is now entering its 17th season. Sue Macdonald, as curator for both the Maternity and Midwifery festivals and Midwifery Hour, reflects on the Hour so far this year… and the season ahead.
“Range of midwifery books for sale… not needed as I have completed my course….’
This advert, often seen on social media and selling sites, always provokes a range of emotions for me… First, I wonder what the back story is… has this person stayed in midwifery? Were they successful? Happy?
Then I think, this person is strong minded… I find it sooooo hard to give away even old editions as I replace with new. Anyone watching the Maternity and Midwifery Hour will see a sample of my books behind me on one of my bookshelves– some well-loved, thumbed and used, some dipped into, and some still waiting to be read fully!
Then I think wow… hey! Your learning is just beginning now… how will you remember everything you learned on the course? What will you refer to on the day you meet a new clinical problem, and get home needing to refresh your knowledge? Though the internet is such a useful tool, so are some of these books, and the little notes that you make yourself!
As I reflect on my life as a midwife, I remember being a brand new (very) nervous midwife. For a while I carried a dictionary in my pocket with little notes to myself. In reality, this was more a comfort blanket than a necessity, as I did have knowledge, which expanded as the days went along, as some of my course learning was utilised, added to, and supported by my wonderful colleagues, midwives, obstetricians, paediatricians, neonatal nurses, and above all by the women, mothers, partners and the babies. It was not always easy… but the learning was and is crucial and enriching. And this learning was not just in those first few weeks and months… it has continued throughout my life as a clinical practitioner, then as a midwife teacher, then in my role at the Royal College of Midwives, my role as a co-editor on a major midwifery textbook, and in my role as a curator for the Maternity and Midwifery Forum, developing the Festivals and events, and of course the Maternity and Midwifery Hour.
The Maternity and Midwifery Hour was born more than five years ago, at the same time as the world had begun to adjust to dealing with a global pandemic, when meeting face-to-face for professional development, lectures and conferences was not possible. We developed this weekly hour-long programme which, like all Maternity and Midwifery Forum activities was recorded, to enable midwives and students to catch up at a later point if they were on duty or busy with other activities.
During this five years, I have been privileged to meet and work with some wonderful pexpertise andpertise, women and partners, midwives, students, obstetricians, doulas, paediatricians and practitioners, all of whom have been generous with their time and expertise, and committed to the whole ethos of the Maternity and Midwifery Hour – to provide an hour of great content, challenge and information aimed at improving knowledge, skills and confidence of midwives, student midwives and others proving care to mothers, babies and families.
It has been wonderful to see the MM Hour develop and, now the pandemic is over, and we have returned to having face-to-face events, it is lovely to meet some of the midwives and student midwives who have been engaged with the Hour, and have fed back that they still save Wednesday evening to join me and guests – a familiar phrase is… ‘I switch on in the kitchen!’
The world continues to be a troubled place, and we all long for an end to the wars and conflict, a move to peace, and for the focus to be on improving the lives of people and a reduction, or even elimination, of all the ‘isms’… especially racism, ageism… as each person is encouraged to look at their fellow human being as a person.
As a midwife, it has also been difficult to see the unfolding of the various reports focussing on women and families who have experienced adverse experiences and trauma. Overwhelmingly, the importance of really listening to women and acknowledging their experiences, true partnership, choice and above all kindness is reinforced– both in the written reports and media reporting.
We have much to be proud of, however, within our services. We really must work to develop the best service for women, babies and families, though it is clear that the service is under tremendous pressure. This will inform the events including the Festivals and the Maternity and Midwifery Hour over the next few months.
The next series, will include sessions on postnatal care, including the impact of understaffing, a relook at examination of the newborn at birth, meaning making, the impact of miscarriage and baby loss, a focus on personal and social transformation through doula training, genomics and hyperglycaemia and a refresher on diabetes during pregnancy and childbirth as well as others.
And I must highlight that the events are supported by a fantastic team, headed by Neil Stewart, editorial director, Karen Stewart, producer, Anjelo Leesen and Jack – producer/ online editors, and Paul Rushworth, Dr Jenny Hall – Matflix editor, newsletter editor and educationalist, Andy Josephides and Ana Correia plus Hilary, David and Sue, who many of you will have met at the Festivals.
So, if you have yet to join us, please do… you just need to register and watch via the Maternity & Midwifery Forum website or the Maternity & Midwifery Forum Facebook page. The sessions are free to access. And, because we know how busy our students and midwives are, we record all of the sessions, so if you can’t join us on the day (Wednesday 7-8pm), you can catch up anytime later. The advantage of joining us ‘live’ is that you can join in the chat and send in a question to the speaker/s. And if you would like to share work that you have been doing, or something you think would be of interest on the MM Hour, please do get in touch!
As always, I know that life continues to be challenging at the moment wherever you are in the world – though the challenges will be different. Many midwives have to juggle their work with home life – often with caring responsibilities. In some parts of the world, women’s practice as midwives has been forbidden which is likely to have major and long lasting impacts on the health of women and children in the short and long term.
We are more fortunate in the UK to have a degree of autonomy in practice and education and regulation, though there continues to be a shortfall of midwives within the NHS (RCM 2024) in spite of recent anxieties about students not necessarily getting jobs at the end of the programmes. This has recently been addressed by Wes Streeting (RCM 2025), but it must be acknowledged that the weeks and months of uncertainly have had a negative impact on students’ morale, and some students may have made alternative plans outside the NHS.
Finally, a word about care and kindness, and the need to take care of ourselves as well as others. We each need to ensure that we are looking out for our colleagues, ensuring that we are getting breaks when required, that each one of us has strategies for coping with stress and tiredness, and a plan for self-development and updating. Above all, remember that being a midwife is a huge privilege, responsibility and joy.
See you on Wednesday 17 September I hope!
Sue
Sue Macdonald
Curator Maternity & Midwifery Festivals and Maternity & Midwifery Hour
September 2025
The Maternity and Midwifery Hour recommences on 17th September.
To access all past episodes of Maternity and Midwifery hour go to:
Matflix (2025) https://www.matflix.co.uk
Maternity & Midwifery Forum – YouTube
Podcasts available from: Apple podcast, Spotify, Podchaser, Podtail, Podbay