October 2015 – Maternity Experience

Month: October 2015

#OxyOct BOOM! What have we all made happen?

31 October 2015 by Helen Calvert / #MatExp Actions, Continuity of Care, Environment and Facilities, Feeding, Maternity Review, Postnatal Care, The #MatExp Journey / 4 Comments

Leigh Kendall opened this month for #MatExp with a call to action for Oxytocin October. The campaign is always action focused and we are keen to hear from anyone who is doing something to improve maternity experience in the UK, be it something big or something small. Yet we had already put together a number of blog posts with calls to action, back in #FlamingJune. So I decided that my action for this month would be to revisit those blog posts and find out what progress has been made.

The original blog posts were on these subjects (each subject links to the relevant post):

Having re-shared the posts on Facebook and Twitter I was delighted to see the responses coming in detailing what has changed, what has been started and what is continuing to be done. Take a look!

Perinatal Anxiety

Sarah McMullen of the NCT explained that she invited Emily Slater (MMHA Campaigns Manager) to speak and run a workshop at the NCT national conference – to raise awareness and inspire action. Sarah says that Emily’s plenary talk to 600+ staff, practitioners & volunteers “was incredibly powerful, and we’re meeting to discuss next steps for NCT”. Sarah added “We’ve also submitted two funding applications relating to mental health awareness (thanks to Rosey Wren for support), and have match-funded a PhD studentship with the wonderful Susan Ayres on Birth Trauma, and are supporting another PhD research project on group identity and PTSD”

Midwives on Twitter commented:

To read Jeannine and John’s blog post please click here. “You matter. I care.”

Emotional Wellbeing

#MatExp team member Emma Jane Sasaru has been incredibly active over the last few months. She has launched Unfold Your Wings a place of information and support aiming to raise awareness of Perinatal PTSD, birth trauma, reduce stigma and give sufferers hope. She has also launched a CoCreation Network community around perinatal mental health. Emma has then collaborated with #MatExp team member Susanne Remic to bring about a weekly #BirthTraumaChat on Twitter run jointly from Unfold Your Wings and Maternity Matters.

Also launched this month by West London Mental Health NHS Trust was this fantastic short film about perinatal mental health: https://vimeo.com/143359951 This film has already sparked many useful conversations.

Continuity of Care

I was speaking to a commissioner from Cheshire this month about the decision to commission OnetoOne Midwives. The company has this month posted an overview of their caseloading model: http://www.onetoonemidwives.org/_news/caseloading-midwifery-an-ever-evolving-model-of-care

In her talk at a recent National Maternity Review event, Baroness Julie Cumberlege made it very clear that the call for continuity of care is being heard by the review team up and down the country. Neighbourhood Midwives led a discussion at the review’s Birth Tank 2 event, and there were a couple of other discussions where options for continuity were also explored.

Support for Midwives

Poem from banksy midwife @JennytheM:

Midwife Deirdre Munro celebrated the launch of the new Global Village Midwives website this week. The movement is over a year old and Deirdre explains:

Infant Feeding

Lots of news about infant feeding from passionate individuals and voluntary organisations. On our #MatExp Facebook group Zoe Woodman explained: “In May we got approval from NCT to run a branch funded feeding support group. Started in June with an NCT bfc attending who is also an IBCLC. We are on 3 boundaries in terms of commissioning services so no local peer to peer style support groups were running within 8miles. The only service is an HV clinic once a week and it’s one on one so you have to wait outside the room to be seen. It’s been on our branch aims at our AMM since I’ve been chair (4yrs!) so finally chuffed to see it in action and I will get to use it myself in January for no3! It’s running twice a month currently but hope we can get funding in the future to run weekly. It’s slowly building in terms of attendance. Feedback so far is great!”

Claire Czjakowska’s Breastfeeding Advert is coming together and is looking very exciting – watch this space! Breastfeeding in Trafford launched its Twitter account this month so please follow for local breastfeeding news. BfN Portsmouth tweeted:

Midwifery students at the University of Worcester have launched a petition around the questionable practices of infant formula companies – follow the hashtag #WeakenTheFormula for more information.

As if this wasn’t enough, this month has seen the launch of the World Breastfeeding Trend Initiative for the UK. A committed group of individuals from the major breastfeeding voluntary organisations have come together to measure the country’s performance against the WHO Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. Please visit the website for more information on how this project is structured and the indicators against which the UK will be measured. The project needs lots of input from families and professionals so please follow @wbtiuk on Twitter and find out how you can help.

Tongue Tie

Doula Zoe Walsh updated us: “We held a North West tongue-tie workshop in Blackpool. It’s now going on the MSLC agenda for Blackpool so that we can discuss local provision and see if it’s meeting the needs of local families.”

Breastfeeding and Medications

From a personal point of view, I finally got around to becoming a friend of the Drugs in Breastmilk Helpline this summer. The helpline is absolutely vital for ensuring that women get the correct information about what medications they can use when breastfeeding. The service is funded by the Breastfeeding Network and the charity once again asked supporters to do a #TeaBreakChallenge this month to help raise donations.

A wonderful #MatExp collaboration has sprung up this month between Angelique Fox, Sarah Baker and Wendy Jones. These two #MatExp mums who have never met in person have both volunteered to help Wendy to collect data and raise awareness with regards to drugs in breastmilk, particularly where dentists and podiatrists are concerned. It was discussed on the #MatExp Facebook group that these two healthcare professions are often cited as not having up to date information about breastfeeding and medications so this collaborative project is aiming to tackle that.

Luisa Lyons, the Infant Feeding Coordinator who wrote our original post on this subject, gave us this fantastic update: “Been a busy couple of months. Infant feeding e-learning training for doctors up and running at my unit and both paeds and obstetricians encouraged to complete it. Great support from our obstetric consultant clinics director too. General paed nurses now doing mandatory infant feeding training every year. Been invited to teach general paed doctors face to face. Three GP’s have done the UNICEF 2 days bf management course with us and now writing bf training for GPs in Norfolk. Included info on bf and medications with scenarios to both student nurses and our midwives at keyworker training now, and incorporating into Mt for all maternity staff. Also off topic slightly am putting in a WHO code game to all the above which has generated lots of awareness with student midwives and maternity staff. Need to join DIBM as a friend which I had forgotten to do, so thanks for the heads up.”

Dads & Partners

Mark Williams, co-founder of Dads Matter UK, wrote this blog post for us for #OxyOct, detailing his work and campaigning: https://matexp.org.uk/matexp-and-me/dads-matter/

Midwife Mark Harris launched his book this month, Men, Love and Birth, “the book about being present at birth that your lover wants you to read”.

A Manchester midwife reported positive outcomes around new rules enabling dads & partners to stay over on her unit:

When asked how we can best support Dads & Partners, newly elected NCT president Seana Talbot tweeted:

Community Outreach Midwife Wendy Warrington tweeted:

I asked Wendy about the work she does with regards to Dads & Partners and she explained “I talk about attachment and being with their baby, skin-to-skin touch. Antenatal and postnatal depression, and fathers’ role in supporting their partner in pregnancy, birth and beyond and how they can do this. I talk about baby cues and the impact of father’s involvement on child’s future emotional and cognitive development. I have had excellent feedback from parents and when I see them after the birth they say they felt well prepared for feeling and emotions experienced post birth. They love the fact that I talked about it”

Collaboration between Midwives and Health Visitors

Health visitors on the #MatExp Facebook group told us:

“My CPT & I have established 6 weekly meetings with the community midwife and the GP (whose special interest is pregnancy/neonates) to discuss cases”

“We already have that in my team we meet at least once a month with the midwife – it was weekly but we are very busy at the moment (both us and the midwife). She will just knock on our door though and share things – she really came on board with antenatal contacts telling parents to be and signposting those with small children with any worries to us.”

With excellent timing Sharon White, OBE, Professional Officer of the School & Public Health Nurses Association, then tweeted the updated pathway for health visiting and midwifery partnership.

And as a result of discussing all of this on Twitter, Sheena Byrom has invited me to lead a tweet chat with @WeMidwives and @WeHealthVisitor in November on the subject of midwife and health visitor collaboration. Watch this space!

And so much more has been happening in #OxyOct as well! #MatExp was well represented at the NHS Maternity Review’s Birth Tank 2 event in Birmingham – click here for Emma’s round up. I spoke at the launch of the Improving ME maternity review for Wirral, Merseyside, Warrington and West Lancashire – click here for my round up of the morning. Leigh Kendall and Florence Wilcock spread the word at the RCOG Conference on October 16th, and Leigh spoke at the Royal Society of Medicine event on October 20th.

Baby Loss Awareness Week took place this month and many important discussions were had around the subject of grief and loss, something which affects a number of #MatExp campaign members. Leigh wrote movingly about Standing on the Periphery for #HugosLegacy.

The RCM has this month launched its State of Maternity Services Report. Emma Jane Sasaru has written a series of three blogs about What Matters in Birth. Susanne Remic has been raising awareness of IUGR. Michelle Quashie created fantastic word clouds for display in her local maternity unit. We now have #MatExpHour every Friday created and launched by Louise Parry – click here for her round up of Week 2. So much going on!

I have no doubt there is much much more that I have missed from this round up. There is so much energy and passion in maternity services, and so much desire for change. Whatever it is you are trying to achieve, please join up with #MatExp via Twitter, Facebook or the website and get encouragement and input from like-minded people. Together we are stronger! Feel the Oxytocin flow!

Helen Calvert, 2015

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Dads Matter

12 October 2015 by Helen Calvert / #MatExp Actions, MatExp and Me, Postnatal Care / 1 Comment

As part of Oxytocin October (#OxyOct) I have been revisiting the first set of blog posts we put up calling for people to ACT in certain areas of maternity care. One of these was Time to Act for Dads & Partners, which included a mention of Mark Williams‘ work in this area.

Mark Williams is the founder of a new organisation called Dads Matter UK (Perinatal Mental Health for Fathers). He also founded Fathers Reaching Out, Youngness and Independent Mental Health Campaigners.

Father’s Reaching Out was set up in 2011 to raise awareness surrounding the detrimental impact that postnatal depression (PND) has on both fathers and equally families as a whole. Dads Matters UK aims to raise awareness of perinatal mental health, and educate every dad before the birth about birth trauma and PTSD for men.

We are delighted that Mark has written this blog post for #MatExp as part of #OxyOct.

______________________________________________

Depression can hit up to around one in five fathers by the time the child reaches adolescence. In a published report in 2015, it states that at least 10% of fathers will suffer with postnatal depression, which can include the birth itself and up to a year after. Fathers can develop lots of complications in this period, and this can influence their daily lives as well as affect their role within their family unit. It can impact heavily on their relationships, financial stability alongside lifestyle and emotional states. Emotional problems and psychological health needs are crucial elements to postnatal depression in fathers and need to be addressed. Fathers tend to get forgotten at this important and life changing event of having a baby, with mother and child being the centre of care delivery and rightly so, but we must remember there is a father there too. Fathers often get pushed aside which can result in feelings of isolation, anxiety and confusion at a time when they to need help.

Dads Matter UK is suggesting that the health service needs to develop a process for the screening and detecting of postnatal depression in fathers. As many fathers, the figures suggest, suffer with anxiety post birth of the child. The birth of a new baby can cause problems such as poor sleep, anxiety and stress. This can lead to problems within the relationship and fundamental communication processes within that relationship. After speaking to hundreds of fathers we are primarily concerned with the health of the father and their families. We feel that postnatal depression in fathers is equally significant and requires important consideration when implementing strategies and screening tools for postnatal depression. Fathers suffering with depression can feel increasingly pushed out and unsure of their role within the family thus affecting the bonding and attachment process between father and child.

Screening is important for men, as they are less likely to seek help and support. Particularly, in relation to their health problems. Due to the associated stigma towards mental health and its associated issues, young fathers are even more likely to be at risk and not seek the help they need. Men are often reluctant to admit that they may have an emotional problem or are unlikely to admit to feeling out of control. If this area of health is not addressed adequately this could lead to further breakdowns in the family structure and have long lasting devastating outcomes for our children.

We must remember that fathers can also suffer from PTSD at the birth. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder can occur following a life-threatening event like military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or violent personal assaults like rape. Most survivors of trauma return to normal given a little time. However, some people have stress reactions that don’t go away on their own, or may even get worse over time. These individuals may develop PTSD.

People who suffer from PTSD often suffer from nightmares, flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, and feeling emotionally numb. These symptoms can significantly impair a person’s daily life. As we know many suffer in silence and let post traumatic stress disorder effect all parts of their daily living. My own nightmares were what if my son had died and the thought of my wife being pregnant in the past did give me so much anxiety that at the time I didn’t know why.

PTSD is marked by clear physical and psychological symptoms. It often has symptoms like depression, substance abuse, problems of memory and cognition, and other physical and mental health problems. The disorder is also associated with difficulties in social or family life, including occupational instability, marital problems, family discord, and difficulties in parenting.

The “invisible wounds” of birth trauma-related PTSD affect not only the father or the family member, but also those around him or her. We must remember it effects everyone and education is needed to prepare the family for what may happen during and after the labour.

We run the risk of letting our fathers down at a time when we need to build strong families and communities for our future generations. Identifying the right support and providing improved health care in relation to Perinatal Mental Health is a top priority, so let’s ensure our health services have the right tools and services available to help and support fathers in relation to their partners’ postnatal depression. When screening fathers we must be mindful to remember that individuals are unique and have developed different styles of coping. It is important to respect the individual, involve them in their care and offer support to them as a person rather than just treat the illness.

Mark Williams, 2015.

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Safety, Experience, or Both?

5 October 2015 by Florence Wilcock / Baby Loss, Birth Trauma, Caesarean Sections, Environment and Facilities, Informed Choice, Language, Pregnancy Complications / Comments Off

A blog post from #MatExp co-founder Florence Wilcock.

There has been much discussion recently about safety within maternity services including a discussion on #MatExp Facebook group. A particular issue that bothers me is the idea that safety and experience might be two separate and mutually exclusive issues and it is this thought that drives me to write today.

Safety is paramount. The purpose of maternity services is to provide safe care through the journey of pregnancy and early newborn life. Every appointment in the NICE pathway is designed to screen for potential problems and ensure they are managed effectively. Every healthcare worker know this is the aim. The 20 week ‘anomaly’ scan might be considered the time to discover the sex of your baby if you wish and to get some photos but the medical purpose is to ensure the baby is growing well, with no abnormalities and to check where the placenta is localised to exclude placenta praevia (low lying placenta) which can cause life threatening bleeding.

But there is more to pregnancy and becoming a parent than safety isn’t there? I am currently reading Atul Gawande ‘Being Mortal’ where he eloquently demonstrates that keeping elderly people ‘safe’ is not enough, there is more to life and living than safety alone. He describes a number of times when giving elderly people purpose such as a plant or animal to look after or more freedom to live the way they wish despite disability it makes a significant difference to their wellbeing. Sometimes this path may deemed ‘less safe’ but for that individual may make all the difference. This comes back to choice. Safety & choice can be tricky ones to combine successfully.

This does not mean I am belittling safety. As a consultant obstetrician it falls to me to talk to couples when the worst has happened and their baby has died. I also care for women who have had unexpectedly life threatening complications. I know I am with them during probably some of the darkest hours they will ever experience. I cannot pretend to understand how they feel but I do know I have been part of those intimate moments of grief and with some families that has followed through into supporting them sometimes for years. As a hospital we have a robust process of incident reporting and the feedback from a Serious Incident investigation (SI) again will sometimes fall to me. In some cases there is nothing that we think could have been done differently in some cases I have to sit and tell an anguished couple that we have failed them and that maybe things could have been different. It is a devastating thing to do, there is absolutely nothing that can be said that will make the situation better. It feels as if you have personally taken their existing despair and dragged them into an even more unthinkable place and the only thing you can say is ‘sorry’ which feel hopelessly inadequate and trite for such a situation.

So if I could guarantee safety I would in a flash but it is not that simple. Maternity care is delivered by people and unfortunately to err is human. We cannot design a system free of risk because however hard we try the variable of human error gets in the way. We can introduce systems that help minimise the impact of these errors but we can’t eliminate them. My favourite analogy for risk management is James Reason’s model of Swiss cheese. The event only happens when the holes in the ‘cheese’ line up the rest of the time the barriers put in place prevent the error. An example in maternity care might be the introduction of what we call ‘fresh eyes’. A midwife looking after a woman on electronic fetal heart monitoring might misinterpret this or not see the subtle changes over time if she has it in front of her constantly. ‘Fresh eyes’ means another midwife or obstetrician comes and looks at the trace on an hourly basis. This means if unusually the first midwife has made an error there is a system that means it is more likely to be corrected.

The concept of a ‘No Blame’ culture is another example designed to minimise human error. The idea that if one sees or makes an error one should report it without fear so that learning can be gained from it. It may be the learning will be the need for some individual training but equally it might be something totally different. If staff are fearful of consequences then under reporting might be the result and safety gaps may not be identified. Encouraging openness about mistakes and errors is vital but difficult. In maternity it isn’t as if we can just operate our way out of this problem .We know the huge rise in Caesareans sections in the last 30 years has not improved the outcomes for babies but has instead cause maternal health problems. So in maternity as other medical specialties we have to constantly refresh and re-invent what we are doing to try and improve safety. As obstetricians we tread a difficult path trying constantly to call correctly just the right amount of intervention at just the right time.

So where does experience fit in I hear you ask? There is abundant published evidence of positive association of patient experience with clinical safety and effectiveness, in other words if your patients (or I prefer users) are having positive experiences then you are running a safer service. It’s hardly surprising if we communicate and explain things to women and their families that we will be more likely to communicate effectively to other members of the multidisciplinary team. If we are open and honest then woman can challenge assumptions and make sure we haven’t missed something critical, a woman knows her own history inside out whereas we might omit a key point. To me one of the most shocking things that was said at our ‘Whose shoes’ #MatExp workshop last year was that women can feel intimidated and unable to ask questions. Trust and understanding between health professionals and those we care for are vital. We cannot possibly hope to improve safety in isolation, experience has to improve too.

There are two specific elements of #MatExp of which I think epitomise the safety -experience overlap. The first is an on-going ever growing constructive conversation between women, families, obstetricians, midwives, health visitors, paediatricians, families and anyone involved in maternity services. Only by tackling the difficult conversations without hierarchy in an equal and respectful way can we improve maternity care. Listening and talking to one another is critical not only as we work with women but in dissolving those barriers and difficulties that sometime exist between different professionals. Flattening of hierarchy, team work and the ability of anyone to challenge is a well-recognised component of a safety culture. We are doing this both locally using the workshops and board game and more broadly via social media and the website.

The second element of #MatExp is that personal sense of responsibility to take action. Own what you are doing and why you are doing it. ‘Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it’ that doesn’t mean leave it to someone else. It means that health professionals and women can take action and influence maternity experience up and down the country and through that impact on and improve the safety of maternity care. So in final answer to my question I do not think it is a choice safety or experience I believe the two are fundamentally intertwined. So what will you do to improve #MatExp?

Florence Wilcock, 2015

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#MatExp Flyers and Stickers Are Available!

3 October 2015 by Leigh Kendall / About MatExp / Comments Off

Want to get out there and spread the word about #MatExp?

Order some flyers and stickers! They’re the ones we used at NHS Expo, as per the image above.

I created the artwork and ordered the flyers and stickers through Instantprint. You can contact them on 0191 2727 327 or email [email protected], quoting reference number 1708648. They will source the artwork for you and liaise with you to make sure it is what you need. You just need to let them know how many you would like (and of course arrange payment!).

The flyer is A5 size, with this image on one side:

and the #MatExp logo on the reverse

MatExp logo

The stickers say…

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What Will YOU Make Happen for Oxytocin October?

1 October 2015 by Leigh Kendall / The #MatExp Journey / 4 Comments

Welcome to Oxytocin October!

What’s that all about, then, I hear you ask?

Well, oxytocin is a powerful hormone often known as the ‘cuddle hormone’ which is greatly stimulated during sex, birth, and breast feeding – all of which are relevant to #MatExp.

You may already know all about oxytocin (especially if you are an obstetrician or midwife, one would hope!) but if you don’t, here’s a brief overview of what the hormone does…

It causes cervical dilation and contractions during labour (and it is crucial however and wherever the baby is born)
When crossing the placenta, maternal oxytocin reaches the baby’s brain and induces a switch in the action of a neurotransmitter which silences the baby’s brain for the period of delivery and reduces its vulnerability to damage
It aids milk production from the mammary glands to the nipple;
It plays a central role in sexual arousal, aids orgasm, and there’s speculation the muscle contractions may help the sperm and egg to meet.
It has a role in increasing trust and reducing fear – which are inherent in the aims of #MatExp: to enable women (and staff) to the best-possible experience of birth with safe, individualised care as detailed in our Heart Values
It can aid bonding within groups and foster positive attitudes.

Isn’t oxytocin incredible?

The point of this brief biology lesson?

Oxytocin, in short, makes things happen. And so can you, because you are incredible too.

For Oxytocin October we would like to ask you what you will do to make something happen to improve maternity experience?

As ever, it doesn’t matter what your action is – big or small, all actions are valued. It doesn’t matter if it’s something you can start doing every day, whether you can start and complete during October, or if it’s a slow-burning action that will take time to come to fruition.

The important thing is to act. JFDI!

If you’d like to tell us about your action, that would be great. You can do that on the Facebook page, on Twitter (#MatExp #OxyOct) or via our contact form. It’s so we can share all the great work that is going on, we can share learning across the country, and measure the impact of our campaign. Remember we’re steering #MatExp, no one is ‘in charge’ so while by all means ask anyone involved for advice you don’t need to ask for permission!

My action will focus on baby loss, because it is also Baby Loss Awareness Month during October, with the awareness day on October 15. My actions will involve activity relating to #HugosLegacy – working to improve support for bereaved parents. I’ll be writing more about that on my own blog.

(I got the bulleted information from Wikipedia – as I say it’s a very brief overview!)

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