As a new year begins, I hope it finds you all well-rested, refreshed and ready for the months ahead. I would like to wish all our readers a very happy new year.
In the spirit of the new year and new beginnings, I would also like to welcome our newest board member to post. Ellen Kitson-Reynolds joins us as the director of programmes in nursing and midwifery, as well as the midwifery programme manager and principle teaching fellow in health sciences at the University of Southampton. I am sure that her input will prove an excellent addition to our wonderful journal, especially considering her years of service as an author and reviewer for the British Journal of Midwifery.
While I hope that this new year brings joy and a fresh start for any who need it, I am also reminded that the holiday period can be a difficult time for some. This is particularly true for those who experience a loss at this otherwise cheerful time. This month, several of our articles focus on topics surrounding the subject of loss, from a research article on supporting midwives caring for women who experience perinatal loss (Kave et al, 2023) to our charity spotlight article, which focuses on the work that Sands does to support families after the death of a baby (Harder and Worgan, 2023).
The holidays are a terrible time of year to lose anyone. And even if a loss occurs at any other time of the year, the holidays often remind one of it. I found this myself, after the loss of my mother in 2021. For anyone who has experienced a loss, I hope you have been able to remember your loved one fondly, and that the new year brings you joy.
However, it is important to start the new year with a positive outlook, and to look forward to the improvements the year may bring. This month's comment article chooses to focus on this outlook, examining the ways in which coaching can support midwives in the new year (Benedetti, 2023). The author, Maria Benedetti, recounts her own experiences with coaching, and the benefits it gave not only to her professional life, but also her personal one. I would encourage all our readers to think about the ways in which coaching may help you, whether you choose to benefit from another's experience or lend your own to advise a colleague.
If I can offer any advice to the community of the British Journal of Midwifery, it would be to approach this new year with the same generosity, kindness and care that is so often exemplified by those of this wonderful profession. Let us all start the year as we mean to go on, by caring for those around us and offering our help when we can to any who may be in need.