Voice of a… mother
Cath Riley lives with a very rare sight condition – this resulted in her first maternity experience being fraught with problems Because I look ‘normal’ and don’t use a cane or a guide dog, people don’t instantly know I have a genetic, degenerative sight condition that will one day make me blind. Having KCNV2 means […]
Advertorial: The Generation Study
The Generation Study is a ground-breaking research study sequencing the genomes of 100,000 newborn babies to help understand whether we can improve the diagnosis and treatment of rare genetic conditions. The study is being run by Genomics England in partnership with the NHS in England. The study has three main aims: Identifying rare conditions in babies […]
Voice of a mother – waiting game
Things that expectant parents take for granted are out of reach for those seeking asylum and living in temporary accommodation My husband and I are seeking asylum in the UK; we have three children, including a three-month-old baby. We have been living in hotel accommodation for over two years waiting for our claim to be […]
Employment advice – pay
Fair pay and terms and conditions continue to be the RCM’s rallying cry. Director of employment relations Alice Sorby and national officer Emma Currer discuss what’s next Q: It seemed that the 2024-25 pay awards showed the start of change for midwives. What are we expecting the news to be this year? A: The pay rise for […]
Caring for You – Parklife
Spending time in nature and being physically active has been shown to improve mental wellbeing. Now that spring is finally here, it’s the perfect time, says the RCM’s Kerry Harkin According to NHS Charities Together “among the top health benefits people reported from getting outdoors were improved mood (75%), immune benefits (36%), sleeping more soundly (28%) […]
Tailor made
Over the years, maternity services have rightly placed more emphasis on an ability to serve a diverse community in its entirety. That means understanding the needs of the local community, says Sumayyah Bilal Nationally published data, from sources such as MBRRACE-UK (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK), has […]
What does an activist do?
1 What does ‘activist’ mean? An activist is a generic term for any member who holds an elected role at a local level. This includes the statutory roles of workplace steward, health and safety representative and learning representative. 2 activist roles in the branch In addition to workplace activists, there are roles within the branch […]
Stand out Speak up – RCM conference 2025
Join us at the RCM conference and exhibition 2025 for a dynamic and joyful celebration of our midwifery community in action The RCM conference is the event of the midwifery and maternity calendar. Around 1,500 midwives, student midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) – as well as the wider professional maternity community, policy-makers, commissioners, researchers […]