Cardiff Maternity & Midwifery Festival 2026

9.00 – 9.25

Skills Workshop              Exhibition area                      

Knitting and crochet for wellbeing  

Knitting for all with midwife, experienced HE teacher and lifelong knitter, Amanda Hutcherson.  

9.00 – 9.25

Skills Workshop              Exhibition area                      

Revalidation Surgery

Dr Jenny Hall, Editor, MATFLIX and Maternity & Midwifery Forum newsletter; former Editor, The Practising Midwife

MATERNITY & MIDWIFERY STREAM

9.30

9.45

10.05

10.25

10.45

Chair’s opening remarks                                                                                                              

Sue Macdonald, Maternity and Midwifery Festival Programme Curator and Editor, Mayes Midwifery

Systemic kindness: making kindness and compassion a structural part of our maternity systems

Ruth Weston Birth Activist, Speaker, Author of Born Stroppy: Make Change Happen 

Birth trauma, bonding and baby behaviour 

Dr Carmen Power, Writer, Researcher and Educator 

Your Career Pathway – the RCM tool to support your career journey

Caitlin Wilson, Professional Advisor, Midwife (Education and Career Development), Royal College of Midwives    

Q & A 

11.00 – 11.45

BREAK, NETWORKING AND EXHIBITION VIEWING

11.05 – 11.20

CAREER FOCUS – Supporting the transition into practice: Evaluating the development of a national peer-led network for early-career midwives    

Nicole Stuart, Founder, Early Career Midwife Network; Midwife, University Hospitals North Midlands          

11.25 – 11.40

MEET THE EXPERT

Foster Wales and the new parent and child fostering initiative    

Meet Gemma Davies and Sarah Byles to find out more about Foster Wales and the new parent and child fostering initiative within the Gwent region which provides ongoing specialist support and training to help keep families together.       

11.45

12.10

12.30

12.45

More than just a conversation: anti-racist practice – every midwife’s responsibility 

Keelie Grindley, EDI Midwife, NHS; Founder, Nya Birth Collective, a dedicated midwifery consultancy contributing to improving national outcomes for global majority communities 

Woman-centred antenatal safety assessment 

Anna Melamed, Senior Lecturer, University of the West of England 

Q & A 

STAND UP FOR STUDENT MIDWIVES RALLY

Alix Morrison, Student Midwife Advocate for Better Maternity Care Leadership &

Maternity Workforce Advocate

Neil Stewart, Editorial Director, Maternity & Midwifery Forum

12.55 – 14.00

LUNCH, MEET THE EXPERT TALK, NETWORKING AND EXHIBITION VIEWING

13.00 – 13.45

MEET THE EXPERT – Making the move to digital – maternity resources for universities and trusts 

Sheena Byrom OBE, Co-Director and Neil Stewart, Editorial Director, MATFLIX/Maternity & Midwifery Forum    

13.30 – 13.45

INTERACTIVE MEET THE EXPERT – The first interaction matters – supporting families following an unexpected diagnosis of upper limb difference

Join Emma Gilpin, Reach Liaison Nurse, for a practical, interactive discussion exploring why the first conversation matters. Hear the latest findings from a national survey of healthcare professionals, share your experiences, ask questions and gain practical tips to improve support for families. You’ll also have the opportunity to contribute to this important work by completing the national survey.             

STREAM A: MAIN ROOM                                 STREAM C: CYMRU LOUNGE  

STREAM B: CHAIRMAN’S SUITE               STREAM D: LEGENDS LOUNGE   

14.00 – 14.30 

A1: Improving care to women, babies & families

The L.I.G.H.T Model™: a framework for emotionally significant conversations 

Marie Watkyns, Founder, Little Light Support 

B1/B2: Midwifery education seminar 

Grasping the issues for midwifery education in light of the maternity reviews

Nicky Clark, Freelance Midwife Educationalist 

C1: Improving care 

Tell it right – supporting new and prospective parents of babies who have Down’s Syndrome  

Julian Hallett, Services Development Manager, Down’s Syndrome Association

D1: Women & infant health

What helps mothers to sustain breastfeeding?   

Dr Jeanne Lythgoe, Senior Lecturer in Midwifery and Kathryn Bond, Programme Leader for Post RN MSc Midwifery, University of Salford

14.35 – 15.05

A2: 

TBC

Delivering the TOPFA Pathway as part of the new National Bereavement Care Pathway in Wales 

Miranda Glen, Coordinator for Wales, Antenatal Results & Choices 

C2: Individualised care

Re-shaping maternity care through a neurodivergent lens: practical changes that improve care for all

Victoria White, Founder & CEO, Neurodivergent Birth CIC

D2: Women & infant health 

Empowering midwives to improve access to postnatal contraception: developing the workforce to enhance women’s reproductive choices 

Victoria Pirie, Specialist Contraception Midwife, Gloucestershire NHS Trust 

15.05 – 15.25

FINAL EXHIBITION VIEWING, NETWORKING AND COMFORT BREAK            

15.15

Announcement of competition winners      Exhibition  

Enter the exhibition prize draw and hand in your card to the registration desk by 13.45 for a chance to win one of our fantastic prizes             

15.25 – 15.55

A3: CPD in action 

Spin the wheel, train for real: regional roll out of Spin for Sim tm and the development of a purpose-built digital platform  

Dr Lucinda Whitton Anaesthetic Registrar, Royal United Hospital, Bath 

B3: Pregnancy and perinatal loss 

Student midwives’ lived experience of caring for bereaved parents following perinatal loss using actor-based simulation: A phenomenological study 

Dr Anne Leyland, Lecturer in Midwifery, University of Salford 

C3: Improving culture and care

Anti-racist practice workshop 

Keelie Grindley, Keelie Grindley, EDI Midwife, NHS; Founder, Nya Birth Collective  

D3: Women & infant health 

Stigmatised, judged and unsupported: Autistic mothers and children’s social work 

Amy Griffiths, PhD Researcher, Swansea University 

16.00 – 16.30

A4: Birthplace choices 

Are birthplace options presented accurately? A review of UK antenatal information 

Dr Sarah Milosevic, Research Associate, Cardiff University 

B4: Pregnancy and perinatal loss  

Mental health support needs of NHS staff exposed to pregnancy and neonatal loss 

Debbie Johnson, Research Associate, University of Bristol 

C4: Improving choices and care 

When choice falls outside guidance: supporting women and midwives in contemporary maternity care 

Eleanor Healer, Medico-Legal Trainer

D4: Women & infant health 

Creating a smoke-free generation starts before birth: Wales’ national approach to reducing smoking in pregnancy   

Liz Newbury-Davies, Principal Public Health Practitioner, Public Health Wales