Anna Walsh’s Post

how vital important is to nurture trust as health care professionals towards women and birthing people

A powerful paper from colleagues in the UK - Perinatal women’s views and experiences of discussing suicide in maternity care settings: A qualitative study This paper adds specific insights of perinatal women’s views regarding the barriers, facilitators, and implications of identifying and disclosing suicidality in maternity care settings. These insights are important for the development of appropriate approaches for identifying women who may require support during pregnancy or after birth. https://lnkd.in/gq2wHcga

We’re back for the second round of the workshop - Does your birth choices service widen the health equity gap? Frequent comments on the BICS forum (below) inspired the development of this workshop, a collaboration between Whittington Health NHS Trust and MNSI. 💬 Advanced directive for needle phobia 💬 Who is the lead professional in high-risk pregnancy and woman/birthing person declines to see an obstetrician? 💬 18 yr old wanting sterilisation at child birth (CB) 💬 Twin homebirth request 💬 Maternal assisted CB We presented our review which explored the reasons why care was planned outside of guidance. We identified multiple reasons influencing a mother's / birthing women's choice to plan their care outside of guidance. These included: - previous birth trauma - fear of medicalised birth - loss of a sense of control - birth anxiety The two most common reasons for care outside of guidance were: 1️⃣Delaying or declining an induction of labour when It was recommended 2️⃣Requests for vaginal birth at home after a previous caesarean birth 🖼️ See our BICS poster to explore more on Birthing outside of guidance https://lnkd.in/eXMMBsUS #BICS24

According to the MiROG study, 13% of maternity services currently provide informational leaflets on birth choices that fall outside standard guidelines. This highlights an important area of need identified by MNSI investigations, which emphasise the value of accessible resources for those considering such birth plans. Ensuring that individuals seeking care outside of national or local have access to clear, supportive, and evidence-based information is essential for empowering informed decision-making. By expanding resources and guidance on alternative options, the maternity workforce can play a crucial role in supporting safe and individualised care pathways for all birthing individuals.

Some really important reading.

SA Health may have miscalculated the due dates of over 1,700 #pregnant women, prompting an independent investigation to check for any harm caused. This highlights the crucial need for accurate and user-friendly #electronicmedicalrecords (#EMRs) in healthcare. Reliable EMRs ensure #patientsafety and support sound #clinical decisions. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g4-_y7QU #Healthcare #EMRs #PatientSafety #SAHealth #PregnancyCare #TechInHealthcare #Healthcare #EMRs #PatientSafety #SAHealth #PregnancyCare #TechInHealthcare #HealthIT #MedicalRecords #MaternalHealth #PatientCare #HealthTech #DigitalHealth #HealthInnovation #SafetyFirst #HealthcareQuality

Black women across the UK are four times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth. This new article reports that black mothers are almost twice as likely to be investigated for potential NHS safety failings and reminds us of the urgent need for equitable healthcare: https://lnkd.in/geN-D4nw An example of a solution aiming to reduce this inequity is Melanatal App. Being built by Ruby Jackson, this app will educate clinicians and service users within maternity services to bridge critical knowledge gaps, aiding detection and improving diagnosis rates to increase treatment uptake. Reducing maternal health disparities will undoubtedly require a multifaceted approach. In what ways do you see digital health playing a part in this? #HealthEquity #DigitalHealth

Dexter: Maternal Health    Dexter is delighted to announce our involvement in a grant recently awarded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The grant focuses on tackling inequalities in maternal health outcomes across the UK, covering the periods before, during, and after pregnancy. The consortium’s goal is to build research capacity to improve maternal care and outcomes.    At Dexter, we are proud to support this important initiative by automating key tasks and leveraging electronic health records to enhance research and care delivery. Together, we aim to make a meaningful impact on maternal health.     https://lnkd.in/e2Q6GxPg 

This week the public inquiry into birth trauma launched their report. It describes a ‘pattern of poor maternity care across the country’ underpinned by a ‘system in which overwork and understaffing was endemic.’ The report highlights that people from marginalised and minoritised ethnic groups have poorer experiences of care. It sheds light on many of the challenges the mamas we support face every day, such as: 🟠Many parents cannot afford to travel to hospital or their GP practice to attend antenatal appointments. 🟠A lack of access to interpreters in NHS services. 🟠A need for greater awareness of diverse cultural practices. 🟠Explicit racism from some caregivers. 🟠A lack of understanding that survivors of sexual abuse often find vaginal examinations, routinely performed during labor, intensely traumatic. 🟠An absence of individual-focused, compassionate care to support mamas who face complex and intersecting disadvantages. Despite the need for a widespread overhaul of the UK’s maternity services and more investment from the government, which this report exposes, we remain hopeful that change is possible. We join Naomi Delap, director of Birth Companions who gave evidence to the inquiry, in calling for a system in which “everybody has an understanding of trauma, that everybody is compassionate and kind, that there is continuity of information-sharing so that people don’t have to keep on reiterating their trauma, telling their stories over and over again to different people.” We echo the need for care with an “individualised approach, individualised care plans, meaningful consent.” Project MAMA’s community of midwives and doulas, who are fiercely passionate about maternal rights and perinatal care, give us faith that a more compassionate, holistic, person-focused system is possible. #birthtraumareport

Excited to share our work, 'Appraising LaQshya’s potential in measuring quality of care for mothers and newborns,' published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth! Had a great opportunity to work on this project with extremely talented professionals at the Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and lead the analysis comparing LaQshya, India's Labor Room Quality Improvement Initiative, to WHO standards. LaQshya, launched in 2017, aims to enhance intrapartum care by minimizing complications, enforcing protocols, and promoting respectful maternity care. The study sheds light on LaQshya's strengths, such as utilizing proven strategies like institutional structures and performance incentives, while also identifying areas for enhancement, such as addressing harmful labor practices and strengthening governance structures. Check out the full paper: https://lnkd.in/d8BUR752 #MaternalHealth #NewbornCare #QualityImprovement #JohnsHopkinsSPH #BMJPediatricsOpen