Research can sometimes feel like a foreign country, but it underpins everything that we, as midwives and maternity support workers, do as part of our everyday role.
Research underpins good maternity care – understanding and reducing inequalities, improving outcomes, even improving the way we work as part of multidisciplinary teams, all rely on research.
If you joined us at our national conference a couple of weeks ago, read your weekly RCM newsletters or kept abreast of our socials you will have heard the exciting news – that the next chapter of our research and development journey is officially underway. On Thursday 1 May, we launched the second ambitious This new strategy will allow the RCM to build on the impactful work undertaken, from completing the RCM James Lind Alliance midwifery practice and maternity care research prioritisation project, to growing and the developing the RCM Small Research Awards which are now entering their fourth year.
At the heart of the new strategy is a simple goal to improve the care of women, birthing people and their families. We couldn’t have got here without the incredible RCM members from across the UK who came together to help shape this strategy as part of the strategy working group. Together we have created something that speaks to all RCM members, wherever they are in their research journey. Building a strong community of midwifery researchers is essential to making this a success
So, what next?
The new strategy sets out clear goals that require the RCM to continue supporting midwives, midwifery students, maternity support workers (MSWs) and maternity care assistants (MCAs) to contribute to maternity research and ensure that the RCM research and development activities are equitable, diverse and inclusive to all. The primary focus for the RCM is to advocate for greater funding for midwifery-focused and midwifery-led research to improve maternity care. To support this, we will champion the top 10 research priorities for midwifery practice and maternity care, developed in partnership with members, service users and other stakeholders. The strategy is also committed to amplifying the voices of women and their families within midwifery and perinatal research to ensure that those issues of importance to the service user are prioritised.
As Dr Sara Webb, RCM Head of Midwifery Information & Research Services, puts it ‘‘The impact of the midwifery community should not be underestimated’. Our profession is already contributing significantly to the perinatal research environment, and we will hope to see this increasing as our new strategy is implemented over the next three years’.
