Saving babies' lives stillbirth summit

Given the launch of the NHS Long Term Plan, which committed to expanding the Saving Babies' Lives Care Bundle (SBLCB), and the Government's target to halve the rates of stillbirth by 2025, this...

Claiming damages for psychiatric injury during childbirth

A previous article in this series recounted a court case (RE and others v Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust [2017]) in which a mother successfully sued for damages because she had...

The award winners 2019

HPV during pregnancy

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is an organism that is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact and frequently by vaginal, anal or oral sex The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)...

Mentor, coach, teacher, role model: what's in a name?

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is seeking to redefinine the standards of proficiency for the future midwife, to ensure that at the point of registration, student midwives can deliver...

How can ways of working with others be developed to improve perinatal mental health care?

NHS England (National Maternity Review, 2016) has a national drive to provide better perinatal mental healthcare to significantly improve the wellbeing of women, babies and families In 2016, 23% of...

Evaluating the contribution of interdisciplinary obstetrics skills and drills emergency training

Variation in the quality of maternal health and perinatal care provision was highlighted by the Government's initiative to reduce the stillbirth and neonatal death rate by 50% by 2025 and 20% by 2020...

Can a workshop increase pregnant women's knowledge of their birthplace options?

Planning where to give birth is arguably one of the most significant choices that a woman will make during her pregnancy Yet for many women, an assumption is made that birth will take place in a...

Eating disorders in pregnancy: practical considerations for the midwife

It is estimated that 5–8% of women may be experiencing an eating disorder in early pregnancy (Micali et al, 2016; Bye et al, 2018a) Eating disorders fall into four main categories: anorexia nervosa,...

Guilt, forgiveness and medical error

The writer Ambrose Bierce said that guilt is felt by one who has committed an indiscretion but failed to cover his tracks, while forgiveness aims to throw an offender off his guard and catch him...

Time to have your say

The long-awaited future midwife consultation has been launched by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) It is made up of two parts: standards of proficiency for midwives (what they need to know and...

Mothers and fathers: what's in a name?

In February 2019, The Telegraph reported the case of a child, known for legal reasons as YY, who could become ‘the first baby in Britain to not to have a mother’ (Stanford, 2019). The case is being...