By Sean O'Sullivan, Head of Health and Social Policy on 08 July 2021
The past week has seen the publication of not one, but two, landmark reports into the state of maternity services in England. On Monday, the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee published a report on the safety of maternity services ...
By Lia Brigante, RCM Quality & Standards Advisor and Birte Harlev-Lam RCM Executive Director for Professional Midwifery on 07 July 2021
Several new recommendations from the updated draft 2021 NICE guideline on induction on labour have caused concerns in the midwifery community. In particular, the implication of those recommendations on service provision, midwifery workforce, ...
By Gill Walton, Chief Executive of the RCM and Eddie Morris President at the RCOG on 05 July 2021
How many parents-to-be, when asked about the sex of their baby, answer “we don’t mind as long as it’s healthy”? That’s their hope and the expectation, and indeed, that’s the outcome for the vast majority of parents. Sadly for some, though, complications ...
By Mary Ross Davie, Director for Professional Midwifery on 29 June 2021
There is no doubt that the term ‘normal birth’ has become the focus of much debate over recent years in the UK. While many working in maternity care sit somewhere in the middle, the debate and discussion around normal birth has become polarised ...
By Lesley Wood, RCM Health and Safety Advisor on 29 June 2021
In our own units and in our teams, we have our ways of assessing risk and improving our maternity services. However, when faced with a global pandemic we took to much larger collective ways of assessing risk, applying national guidance and we ...
By Nicolette Peel MBE, Registered Midwife, Mummy's Star Ambassador and former Chair on 24 June 2021
As a mum with a baby or young child/ren receiving a diagnosis of cancer that cannot be cured is earth shattering. There are no words to adequately convey the way that cold fear and dread grab hold of your heart and squeeze. The exquisite pain of imagining ...
By Stuart Bonar, Public Affairs Advisor on 23 June 2021
Wednesday 23 June is United Nations Public Service Day. No need to apologise if you missed the news. It probably won’t make the front pages.
But we wanted to tell you about this because it is positive to see the United Nations (UN) honour public ...
By Patricia Gillen, Public Health Agency on 23 June 2021
Working through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: an examination of mental wellbeing, burnout, work-related quality of life and coping across the health and social care workforce.
By Hermione Jackson, Digital Midwife Project Advisor on 18 June 2021
We’ve just received the long-awaited news that maternity services in England are going to receive a much needed £52 million investment in digital technologies . From a survey of Digital Midwives, conducted last summer, the Royal College of ...
By Clea Harmer, Chief Executive, Sands on 07 June 2021
For more than 40 years Sands has worked to make sure that bereaved parents and families get the support they need and deserve, and Sands has also worked to save babies lives.