Events

Postnatal care continues to be the ‘Cinderella’ maternity service, underfunded and neglected. Yet, it is an incredibly vulnerable time point for new parents and their babies as they transition to parenthood, whether for the first time or the fifth. While UK maternity services continue to face extreme challenges including funding shortfalls, this conference provides refreshing multidisciplinary insights regarding current innovations and best practices. 

With perspectives from service users, midwifery, obstetrics, general practice, charities, and researchers, this conference explored the challenges but, crucially, inspired what could be achieved within the national context. 

Read the full programme.

SPLASH (Sharing Pooling Learning Advocacy Safety Holistic) was the first international conference on the use of birthing pools during labour and/or birth. The conference was organised by Dr Ethel Burns, Senior Lecturer in Midwifery at Oxford Brookes University and OxMater group lead, and Dr Claire Feeley, Lecturer at King’s College London, and brought together international multidisciplinary maternity professionals and academics.  The conference also launched the  e-learning tool 'estiMATE' designed to teach midwives how much blood volume in a birthing pool is safe and when they should call for a medical intervention.

Read the news article about the conference.

• Midwife Ceri Glenister presented a seminar on the publication based on her MSc dissertation project with supervisor Associate Professor, Rachel Rowe, National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit.
• Local guidelines for admission to UK midwifery units compared with national guidance: A national survey using the UK Midwifery Study System (UKMidSS).

• A cross-sectional survey of the newborn skin cleansing practices of parents in the UK
• Sarah Fleming, Senior Lecturer/Year 1 Lead, Midwifery, Oxford Brookes University

• Water immersion during labour, physiological birth and perineal trauma – what have we learnt from secondary analysis of a large dataset?
• Dr Jane Carpenter, Programme Lead, Midwifery/Course Lead (Professional Doctorate in Midwifery) Oxford Brookes University

Ethel Burns contributed to this letter which adds to current debate regarding the OASI Care Bundle. BJOG, 20 July 2021. https://www.authorea.com/doi/full/10.22541/au.162676063.31310167

Join the discussion at this event with the Maternal and Newborn Form, RSM on 4 November 2021. https://www.rsm.ac.uk/events/maternity-and-newborn/2021-22/mbq50/

Midwifery ran a webinar as part of a module for third year students. Over 50 people attended this event which stimulated interesting discussion. Speakers included: 

• Sarah Noble, Head of Midwifery, South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust
• Dr James Harris, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Evidence Based Midwifery, Chelsea & Westminster
• Prof Mary Renfrew, Professor of Mother and Infant Health, University of Dundee
• Ethel Burns, Oxford Brookes University

Watch the webinar video on our Resources page.