Creating a bond
More than one in five women and birthing people will face a mental health challenge during pregnancy and after birth, according to the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, and suicide continues to be a leading cause of death for women between six weeks and one year after giving birth. That’s why perinatal mental health specialists in maternity […]
“If you want change for the members you represent, you can’t stay on the sidelines”
An RCM member came to me because she had quite a bit of time off sick and she faced possibly losing her job and her livelihood. I said: “I really need you to be honest with me and tell me what’s going on, otherwise it makes it difficult for me to build a defence and […]
Voice of a mother
Living in temporary accommodation means not having somewhere safe to rest and care for your baby I’m Jenny.* I’m a mum of two and my youngest is five months old. I’ve been sofa surfing since I was five months pregnant because of domestic violence. It’s been really stressful. When you’re pregnant you want to make […]
Leading with purpose
Jessica Giblin Senior community midwife, Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust I was 18 months into my new role and hadn’t done any formal leadership training before when the Trust put me forward. The [Band 7 Syndeo] programme ran over several months, with three face-to-face sessions, two online sessions and lots of self-directed learning. As part […]
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 […]
Voice of a… midwife, RCM mentee and patient safety lead
The RCM-supported Turning the Tide mentoring platform gave midwife Mary Showunmi the encouragement and tools to progress her career I’m lucky, at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust where I work, that we’re given equal opportunities and are actively working towards closing any gaps. I wasn’t aware of the mentoring platform until I joined the […]
Voice of a… bereavement midwife
Racheal Crane, from James Paget University Hospitals NHS Trust, recently won the Archie Bereavement Professional Award at the Mariposa Awards Empathy is everything in a healthcare role. It has been 10 years since I lost my little boy, Max. At that point I was doing voluntary breastfeeding support at the hospital and, when I lost him, I […]
Lost in translation
Translation services need to be seen as a critical part of maternity care. If English isn’t the first language of the woman in front of you (and for five million people in the UK, that could well be the case), how do you put her at ease, understand her needs, give her medical information and reach […]
Voice of a… student midwife
Nic Ferguson, a third-year at Edinburgh Napier University and chair of the Student Midwives Forum (SMF), spoke at the RCM conference in May I had the pleasure of speaking at the RCM conference on the topic of leadership in maternity services. As a student midwife, the opportunity to speak on a topic that is fundamental […]
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 […]