NHS Midlands launches pilot programme to reduce inequalities for ethnic minority midwives

NHS Midlands has launched the Midlands Development Aspirant Ethnic Minority Nursing and Midwifery Leaders (DAL) Programme to contribute towards reducing healthcare inequalities in the region. The DAL programme pilot has been launched to ensure career progression and development is available to ethnic minority midwives and nurses in the region, providing leadership and representative workforce at […]

Scotland midwives vote to be balloted on industrial action over NHS pay

Midwives in Scotland have voted overwhelmingly to be balloted on industrial action after rejecting the Scottish Government’s pay offer of 5 per cent. The consultation was conducted by the UK’s trade union for midwives and maternity support workers the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) which saw 90 per cent of their members voting to be […]

RCM members in Scotland reject Government pay offer

RCM members in Scotland have overwhelming rejected the Scottish Government’s pay offer of 5%. In the largest ever turnout in the history of an RCM pay consultation in Scotland – of the 66% of midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) who responded – 90 percent have rejected the Governments offer. Now all members working in […]

ONS data shows live births and stillbirths increased in England and Wales in 2021

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on births in England and Wales shows live births increased in 2021, but the stillbirth rate also increased during the same period. The figures show there were 624,828 live births in England and Wales, and increase of 1.8 per cent compared to 2020. This is […]

University of Leicester students set their sights on midwifery leadership

Students from the University of Leicester have their sights on leadership roles in midwifery following the completion of a four-year undergraduate master’s degree in MSci Midwifery with Leadership. Launched in 2018, the course is one of its kind in the UK, bringing midwifery and leadership together in its modules. The aim of the course is […]

Women reluctant to breastfeed in public due to attitudes of general public

A study by researchers at Swansea University and Cardiff University show women are reluctant to breastfeed outside of their home because of the attitudes of the general public. 17,700 women were examined in the study, with many saying that the attitudes of strangers is having a direct impact on their ability to breastfeed in public. […]

RCM urges all members in England and Wales to take part in pay consultation

Today the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has launched this pay consultation of its members working in the NHS in England and Wales. The College wants to gauge how midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) feel about the pay award and what action they are willing to take as result of the below inflation pay […]

The government must invest in England’s maternity services, says RCM

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is calling on the Government to urgently act to stop England’s maternity services from “spiralling into an ever-worsening crisis”. The call for the Government to act has come shortly after the publication of the Health and Social Care Select Committee Expert Panel’s report, of which the union provided evidence for. […]

Women’s Health Strategy in England to close gender health gaps

The Government has published the first Women’s Health Strategy in England with the aim to close gender gaps when it comes to health care. The strategy has introduced new research on women’s health issues to increase the understanding of women’s health needs so that they are diagnosed and treated effectively. It also announces £10 million […]

ANMF welcomes reinstatement of COVID-19 payment for essential workers

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of reinstating COVID-19 leave disaster payments for essential workers. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made the decision to reinstate the $750 COVID-19 leave disaster payment in a meeting with the National Cabinet, following calls from ANMF and its members to re-introduce this […]