Feeding

#FlamingJune – #Matexp igniting the flames to improve maternity experiences

29 June 2015 by Emma Sasaru / #MatExp Actions, About MatExp, Baby Loss, Feeding, Informed Choice, Language, The #MatExp Journey / Comments Off

Wow what a month its has been! The whole of June has been #FlamingJune, a month when everyone was asked to share actions big or small to show ways they are going to improve maternity experiences. Everyone whether a mother, a doula, a midwife, blogger or campaigner was invited to post actions on the Matexp facebook page, the twitter hashtag #Matexp or the Matexp website.

What a response! In fact there have been so many actions it is impossible to list them all. But here is a little round up of the general ideas behind the actions.

LISTEN, this was mentioned by so many and shows how important is it that women are listened to, in pregnancy, during birth and afterwards. Many voiced that this simple action alone would have improved their experience and many voiced that listening to women more was their action.

ADVOCATE, for women, for families, by Blogs, campaigns, education classes and working with local maternity liaison service committees many spoke of ways they will seek to support families. Some will be doing so be simply voicing their own experience.

CHOICE, campaign for, raise awareness of, make sure women are aware of and given choices and that their choices are listened to, respected. Some actions involved women simply educating themselves on the choices available to them, while others spoke about raising awareness of options and choices and how to get support.

SUPPORT, for breastfeeding, families with babies in NNU or on paediatric wards, perinatal mental health and for families that have lost their precious babies. Also how healthcare professionals can all work together to make support for families better. There were so many amazing ideas and actions on support and again many voiced how important support is.

Some said that their actions were to become midwives and health visitors and to be on the frontline of supporting women and their families, to change cultures and improve maternity services.

During #FlamingJune we have discussed, tongue ties, infant feeding, baby loss, perinatal wellbeing, birth trauma, medication while breastfeeding, NICU, low birth weight, PND and much more. These were based around the Matexp twitter Alphabet.

This month saw us celebrate fathers day and the importance of dads to families. We saw beautiful pictures on the Matexp facebook page of dads doing skin to skin, holding, playing and loving their families. It was so moving, and truly showed how valuable they are and all partners, to the wellbeing of families.

This month was also #celebratebreastfeeding week. Again we saw amazing pictures and comments of the good support that families have had, but also many posts on the lack of support that so often seems the situation many families face. With many areas finding cuts are being made to breastfeeding support it is a timely reminder of how important it is that feeding support is part of a good maternity experience.

#FlamingJune saw the release of the first, of we hope many, videos on Matexp. Florence, Gill and Sarah in a really moving video shared with us all how and why Matexp started, the whoseshoes workshops and the impact it has had on services.

Also the first Matexp workshop to be held outside of London in Guernsey which is so exciting. Hopefully workshops will start to spread all over the UK and who knows eventually, maybe the whole world.

So as we reach the end of #FlamingJune what now? Well if you haven’t made an action you still can, it doesn’t have to be a big change it can be as simple as thinking about the language we use around a pregnant women or to share our story. If we have made an action, keep going to see it through. Every small change we make as individuals makes a difference. It maybe that your action will be hard to make happen, or will take a long time, but don’t give up because even just changing the maternity experience for one family makes it so worthwhile.

There are more plans ahead for the coming months, so much to look forward to. Thank you for the journey so far, for your actions, thoughts, comments and support. Matexp puts families at the heart, its overall theme is kindness and compassionate care. It is a safe place for everyone to voice their views. So take a look and get involved in making maternity experiences better for everyone.

Emma Jane Sasaru

@ESasaruNHS

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#Matexp – Emotional Wellbeing – what do families really need?

15 June 2015 by Emma Sasaru / #MatExp Actions, About MatExp, Baby Loss, Birth Trauma, Environment and Facilities, Feeding, Postnatal Care, Pregnancy Complications, The #MatExp Journey, Uncategorized / Comments Off

Supporting families – Emotional Wellbeing

#Flamingjune is well under way and there has been so many wonderful conversations taking place on the Matexp facebook group. As part of this months campaign, ACTIONS to improve services have very much been at the forefront with everyone sharing ideas to make sure support given to families is the best it can be.

With this in mind one of the subjects discussed was Emotional Wellbeing. Many shared heartfelt stories, and personal experiences as well as ideas that would have made a difference them and their families.

Matexp asked;

How much do you feel your pregnancy, birth and postnatal care affected your emotional wellbeing?
How do you think we can help prepare women and their partners for the impact that birth and caring for a new baby has on emotional wellbeing ?
What supported or helped you to protect your emotional wellbeing?
What can be done to help health care professionals be able to support families better?

Many commented on how we often under estimate the impact having a new baby has on a family. It was said that ‘adapting from working life to being at home was overwhelming’, ‘that often dads are working long hours and need support too’ and having somewhere to go to talk to others and relax was vital. Emotional support was mentioned as being a “basic need” for families.

One comment noted that ‘real life’ parenting needs to be discussed at antenatal contacts. “We are bombarded with the prefect images of parenthood, I don’t think people are prepared for the realities of parenthood – being totally exhausted but this little person still needs feeding and there is no milk in the fridge so you cant even have a coffee to wake up you”.

Another commented’ ” professionals need to understand the stresses which parents face not just with the birth, but financial, logistical etc”. What suggestions were made that would help? “By looking through the eyes of the patient, and trying to see things from their point of view”. Yes walking in another’s shoes so to speak showing empathy, and understanding helps provide support that protects the emotional wellbeing of families.

Many voiced feeling left alone, isolated and ‘fending for themselves’ after the birth of their babies and how this impacted their emotional wellbeing. Many felt afraid to voice they were struggling with motherhood and kept it to themselves worrying they be dismissed or viewed as ‘failing’.

Others voiced how important good support from health visitors, peer support and support groups was to their emotional wellbeing and not just for mom but dads too. In fact is was mentioned how important it is to ask dads how they are doing too!

Again and again support was mentioned for birth trauma and loss of a baby. Things such as professional counselling to be available as standard and peer support on wards and units. As well as health professionals knowing where to signpost families for support including local charities and national organisations.

One comment read “the single biggest thing would have been to treat us respectfully”. Very sobering.

So what were some of the actions that came out of the discussion to help with emotional wellbeing?

Maternity units to have specially trained staff to care for those that have suffered birth trauma, loss or mental health issues.
To remember that care involves emotional support not just physical.
Peer support for families on wards and in NICU.
Specialist counselling services available as part of post-natal after care and on NICU unit so families do not have to leave their babies.
Antenatal support on ‘real life’ caring for a baby, as well as how to look after their emotional wellbeing.
After birth de-briefs for sharing of experiences both good and bad to help improve care given.
Remember that dads need support too.
Health professionals to be aware of support available to families so they can signpost.
For all staff supporting families to show kindness, compassion and empathy and provide care that is patient-centred meeting individual needs.
Most of all treat families with respect. “letting mums and dads know that being good is good enough – they don’t need to be perfect”.

Emotional wellbeing is important for families, by sharing experiences, listening and working together we can help improve the maternity experience for all.

There is beauty in giving to others

Click here to add more actions

Emma Jane Sasaru

@ESasaruNHS

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#MatExp and NHS change day – a call to action to support Breastfeeding

29 May 2015 by Emma Sasaru / About MatExp, Feeding, Informed Choice / Comments Off

Helen Calvert and I are the breastfeeding champions for the NHS Change Day #MatExp campaign. What on earth does that mean I hear you ask? It means that we have the privilege of being part of a powerful grassroots campaign using the Whose Shoes?^® approach to identify and share best practice across the nation’s maternity services and look at ways we can improve these services for women and their families. The campaign has already been triggering discussions about what needs to improve to make sure women and their families have the care that is right for them. You can read all about it here: http://changeday.nhs.uk/campaigns/matexp/

There are 8 existing #MatExp Change Day actions, and we are focusing on #MatExp5 – Life With A New Baby, and in particular breastfeeding: http://changeday.nhs.uk/campaigns/matexp/matexp-improving-maternity-experience-just/

Anyone familiar with this blog will know that I suffered birth trauma with my first daughter and I am very passionate about improving maternity and perinatal care for women and their families that is patient centred and supportive of their choices. I work as a breastfeeding peer support worker for the NHS helping families in Neonatal, hospital and community. I also volunteer for the BfN and am a trained Doula. I write my blog to raise awareness of birth trauma and Perinatal mental health, reduce stigma and help others. I am passionate about supporting women in their breastfeeding journey especially those that have had pre-term babies. You can read about my story here http://changeday.nhs.uk/story35/

Helen started the #hospitalbreastfeeding campaign on Twitter following her experiences of breastfeeding her younger son, David, who has a congenital heart defect. This campaign led to the launch of Helen’s website, http://www.heartmummy.co.uk, which has key messages to help medical professionals to understand what’s in it for them when it comes to supporting breastfeeding in wards and departments. It provides much needed information to help healthcare professionals provide support to breastfeeding mom’s especially with sick vulnerable babies. Helen tirelessly campaigns to raise awareness for families with children who have a heart defect and also to support moms in their breastfeeding journey.

So what is it that we would like you to do?

Well, firstly, why not log an action on the NHS Change Day website, where “we give ourselves permission to make the changes we can make, share them, and inspire others”? What’s lovely is this is for anyone. Most of us come into contact with women and babies, so simple things like a simple smile to a new mother or a kind word or deed can make a difference.

If you are working in maternity services or are passionate about supporting women and their families and are going to log an action, do so under the #Matexp campaign. There are a few actions to choose from, why not go for something that will make a change to the breastfeeding experience of UK families? Actions can be as simple as you like, what matters is they are personal to you.

Here are our suggestions, and how to log your action. Your action could be to:

Look outside of the NHS for breastfeeding information to use to support families.[Best beginnings, BfN, UNICEF, ABM, La Leche League, kellymom, Dr Jack Newman etc.]
Always remember that breastfeeding is more likely to be possible than impossible. Just keep this in mind every day and see how it changes your approach to families who want to breastfeed.
Follow the RCN’s guidelines for supporting breastfeeding on paediatric wards: http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/270161/003544.pdf
Download and share the posters from heartmummy.co.uk – simple messages and guidance explaining how breastfeeding can be a key part of a child’s medical care.
Support all families to make an informed choice by giving accurate evidence based information regarding breastfeeding.
Encourage each other to support a mom whatever her feeding choice.
Help the wards/places we work in to reach out/work towards Unicef baby friendly accreditation. Use the resources they provide and makes sure the culture reflects those standards.
Not to use the term Breast is Best, but seek to normalise breastfeeding as the biological norm.
Always introduce yourself #hellomynameis and explain who you are and your role. Be friendly, give of your time, listen and remember that each is an individual trying hard to do the best for their babies. Smile!
Think about language, what we say matters. Make sure we are not undermining breastfeeding, causing a woman to doubt her ability to care for her baby.

To log your action go to : http://changeday.nhs.uk/campaigns/matexp/ scroll down and click on the light bulb that says action. Then follow the instructions. Put #MatExp5 in the title of your action to link it to our area of the campaign if you would like to, and don’t forget to tweet and share your action once you’ve written it!

Also you can join or set up one of the maternity workshops that are going to be running around the country. These workshops give the opportunity for all, whether staff or service users, to engage, share ideas, and look at ways to improve our maternity services.

What are we hoping to achieve?

When we spoke to women a few core things became clear, they wanted clear consistent advice on breastfeeding, good support in hospital and lots of encouragement and support. They spoke about respect for their choices and not having things forced on them by healthcare professionals and how sometimes all the wanted was for someone to say “well done’.

The standard of care we see in our maternity units needs to improve. To do this we must all work together, staff and service users, men and women. We all want women and families to be supported in their choices and have the best possible care. The maternity experience a woman has can stay with her all her life, as can the support she receives to feed her baby. We owe it to women and their families to make a change. What matters is real people, real families and real lives. Women should be equal partners in their maternity care their voices need to be heard so that the maternity experience meets individual needs. Dignity and respect must govern all we do. Maybe we can only make small changes or pledge small actions, but when they all join up together that means big changes for women, for families, for us all.

Thank you Emma and Helen

Emma’s change day action: http://changeday.nhs.uk/user_action/ive-got-involved-in-the-matexp-actions/

Helens change day action: http://changeday.nhs.uk/user_action/matexp5-encouraging-support-for-breastfeeding-on-childrens-wards/

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