The Maternity & Midwifery Hour

Series 12 - Episode 10: Anti-oppressive practice in midwifery and maternity services

As we come to the end of Season 12, we have an opportunity to reflect on oppression in midwifery practice and maternity services and how we all, as individuals, can reflect on our own attitudes and behaviours in order to counter bias and address social injustice, exclusion and discrimination.

We are delighted to welcome Alys Einion who will guide us through the complexities towards improving our practice and our relationships with women, families, and the whole healthcare...

An important part of a student’s journey to become a midwife lies in learning theoretical and clinical skills. In this session experienced midwifery lecturers, Lindsey Rose and Rosy Jordan alongside student midwife Amy Solt share how the assessment process works, how to prepare for assessment, what supervisors are looking for and getting used to completing the paperwork.

Hosted by:

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

...

In this session focusing on pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, our two speakers, Anja Johansen-Bibby, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Lead for Maternal Medicine at Milton Keyes University Hospital and Layla Lavallee Registered Midwife and NIHR Doctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford, discuss care during labour and birth, sharing the latest evidence and research for ensuring high quality maternity and newborn care. This will include exploring ongoing and follow up care for women after birth and the postnatal period.

Hosted by:

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

Pregnant women with substance dependency are more likely to lead multi-layered, psychologically and socially complex lives and can be distrustful of mainstream services. Dr Elaine Moore, a retired midwife from Ayrshire, Scotland, joins us to talk about continuity of care and its value to the building and maintenance of relationships between safeguarding midwives and pregnant women with substance dependency. The study also explored the impact of these relationships on midwives and how this affected their interactions with the wider multidisciplinary, multiagency team.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdonald, Midwifery Expert; Host...

In this session, Midwife Maria Rowntree and Professor Calvin Moorley explore the value and learning through initiatives such as the Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Inclusivity fellowship. Maria will then discuss the complexity of understanding privilege, inclusion and the impact of power, and what we should be doing to support women and their families for whom English is not their first language. Hosted by: Sue Macdonald, Midwifery Expert; Host and Curator, Maternity and Midwifery Festivals/Midwifery Hour, Editor, Mayes Midwifery Contributions from: Dr Calvin Moorley, Professor of Diversity and Social Justice, London South Bank University Maria Rowntree, Community Midwife and Dame...

This week we are exploring some alternatives in managing pain in labour. We have two leading practitioners presenting two strategies:

1.The use of combs during labour

2. Introduction to Reflexology in Pregnancy and Birth that may be useful for some women, and highlighting what midwives need to know too.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

The use of combs during labour

Amanda Redford, Midwife, Acupuncturist, Maternity...

In this hour, Florence Wilcock, obstetrician and mum, and midwives Deepa Santosh and Helen Green explore how we can improve the experience of women, their babies and families as they pass through the maternity services.

How does our perspective impact on our view, and the way we provide care, and how can we truly make the service kinder, more individualised and safer for all involved?

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:<...

Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia continue to be major causes of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity and can adversely impact on the experience of women and their families. The charity, Action of Pre-eclampsia (APEC), provides support to women, families, and to professionals. In this session our two speakers, Hsu Chong and Erum Khan, will be exploring the most recent research and evidence around pre-eclampsia and eclampsia.

Dr Erum Khan will present an ABC of Eclampsia sharing research and evidence around eclampsia and how the condition can be recognised; why it is important to do this early and the...

In this session we expand our horizons to look at maternity services and midwifery in the world, with the help of our two special presenters : Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, Chief Midwife at the International Confederation of Midwives, and Joy Kemp, Midwife specialist working in Bangladesh.

Hosted by:

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

Contribution from:

Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE, Chief Midwife, International Confederation of Midwives

Joy Kemp, International Midwifery Specialist

...

This week we are looking at two important reports: the new MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Confidential Enquiry, and the Sands Listening Project. Both reports focus on the experiences of Black and Asian women and their parents of loss after a stillbirth or neonatal death.

Benash Nazmeen, Assistant Professor in Midwifery, Bradford University, and member of the Enquiry stakeholder group, will explore the MBRRACE report and its implication for midwifery practice. The report compares care reviews for Black and Asian women who have experienced a still birth or neonatal death in comparison to their white counterparts (Draper...