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...

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

Using a smartphone app to identify signs of pre-eclampsia and/or worsening blood pressure

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are classified as gestational hypertension, pre-existing or chronic hypertension and pre-eclampsia HDP complicate 10% of pregnancies and the incidence of...

Use of technology in simulation training in midwifery

Midwifery education is facing many challenges in finding clinical placements to meet curriculum requirements to educate and prepare midwifery students in specialised areas (Brady et al, 2015)

Postpartum psychosis and management: a case study

Postpartum (or puerperal) psychosis is a severe mood disorder characterised by acute onset manic or affective psychosis (Dias and Jones, 2016), usually within 2 weeks after childbirth (Norhayati et...

The future is ours

We have made significant improvements in maternity care: an 188% reduction in stillbirths (Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2018a), a 58% reduction in neonatal mortality (ONS, 2018b) and an 8%...