Maternity & Midwifery Forum

Pregnancy and maternity discrimination at work

Paul
Maternity and pregnancy discrimination is unfortunately still very common, what advice can midwives give to women who are experiencing discrimination or unfair treatment? Here we explain how to negotiate an exit from an employer. You can also read our separate page: 10 tips for returning from maternity leave. What is......
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Optimizing the use of Caesarean Section

Paul
In October 2018, The Lancet published an epidemiological report   on global use of caesarean sections – it put the UK figure at just over 26% of all births.  This comes, perhaps not coincidentally, at a time when tokophobia (the extreme fear of birth) seems to be on the rise.......
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Midwifery: a global update, what this means for normal labour and birth

Paul
Fran McConville, Midwifery Advisor at the World Health Organisation gives a presentation discussing “Midwifery: a global update, what this means for normal labour and birth” at the 14th International Normal Labour and Birth Research Conference. The full box set of videos from this conference are available to view here....
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Getting it right the first time – Holding on to labour

Paul
Many pregnant women – especially those who have given birth before – have an innate sense of when they’ve gone into labour ‘for real’.  However, if they show up to the labour ward of their local or chosen hospital too soon, they run the risk of being sent home where......
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Black Breastfeeding Week Celebration: Breaking Barriers & Uplifting Education

Paul
1-2-1 Doula & Breastfeeding Support Ltd will be celebrating Black Breastfeeding Week 2019 by hosting their 2nd public event in the UK. This is going to be a fun, interactive, educational and informative event. Everyone is welcome! There will be: Special Guest Speakers Q&A Sessions Creative Workshops Comedy / Poetry......
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Coping with a crying baby – Warrington & Halton Hospitals launches programme aimed at helping parents and carers across Cheshire

Paul
“Babies Cry, You Can Cope – never, ever shake or hurt a baby” is the message from ‘ICON’ – a national programme of interventions and awareness that aims to help parents and carers to cope with a crying baby.  Yesterday, midwives, health visitors, GPs and other professionals who work with families,......
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New report spotlights how housing problems jeopardise women’s rights to safe maternity care

Paul
A report published recently by the charities Birth Companions and Birthrights highlights the need for a more proactive, integrated approach to addressing the maternity care needs of women experiencing multiple disadvantages during pregnancy and early motherhood. Through in-depth interviews with women and professionals, the research found that, in almost every......
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“Behaviour is an invisible cloak that you think nobody can see… Embroider your cloak with love, kindness, goodwill, integrity, truth and honour”

Paul
England’s first Chief Midwifery Officer was appointed earlier this year. The appointment marked a shift in maternity and midwifery care in the NHS both towards midwife-led care for women and towards midwives becoming an ever-more self-governing group.   In this presentation, Jennifer ‘Jenny the Midwife’ Clarke explains that a true......
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