PROMOTING DIGNITY, RESPECT AND COMPASSION IN MATERNITY SERVICES
5 Talks
It should go without saying that maternity services should provide the most compassionate and respectful care to women and their families. Yet evidence from across the world shows that this is not always the case. The purpose of this set is to provide knowledge on how to promote dignity, respect and compassion in services that covers the relationships amongst staff as well as to the women who access them. Talks cover recognising the importance of enabling women to make their decisions as well as guidance on how to improve care.
Back to basics: Dignity, Respect and Kindness in Care
2017 | 23 mins | Promoting Dignity, Respect and Compassion in Maternity Services
Sue Davidson & Kathy Patrick, Midwifery Matrons at Kettering General hospital, share about ongoing work they have been doing to support changes in care to promote dignity, respect and kindness. They discuss communication and information giving for staff and clients and changes they have implemented. They highlight areas where improvement can be made showing pictures from their own practice.
Sue Davidson & Kathy Patrick, Midwifery Matrons, Kettering General hospital
Informed consent: Human rights and respect in maternity care
2019 | 24 mins | Promoting Dignity, Respect and Compassion in Maternity Services
Marie Booker, Programme Director for Birthrights, introduces the work of Birthrights on human rights, and the principles of informed choice and consent. She then introduces Nadine Montgomery, who brought a landmark court case in relation to the birth of her son, Sam, around her right to choose during her care. Nadine goes on to relate the story of her birth and the reasons why she decided to undertake the court case, for women to have rights to make decisions about their care.
Marie Booker, Programme Director for Birthrights and Nadine Montgomery, Ambassador, Baby Lifeline
The real work life balance: kindness, caring and compassion
2018 | 28 mins | Promoting Dignity, Respect and Compassion in Maternity Services
Sheena Byrom, Director, All4Maternity, is passionate in this talk for compassionate care in maternity services. She presents why humanisation of birth matters and goes on to address the current stress that midwives are experiencing, calling for more love and compassion for each other. Sheena illustrates how appreciating each other can shift culture. She also provides tips for developing resilience and connecting with others for support
Sheena Byrom, Director, All4Maternity
Developing a compassionate workplace
2018 | 29 mins | Promoting Dignity, Respect and Compassion in Maternity Services
Maggie O’Brien, Midwife and Lecturer, University of East London identifies what a compassionate workplace looks like, with promotion of positive perceptions of midwifery. She discusses support for each other, with staff valued within a learning environment, where they are able to raise concerns safely. Maggie talks about some of the obstacles to compassion and the responsibility of leaders to model compassion. Personal strategies for compassion are provided and responses to questions from the audience
Maggie O’Brien, Midwife and Lecturer, University of East London
Putting compassion, care and kindness into practice by developing the role of the Bereavement Specialist Midwife
2015 | 29 mins | Promoting Dignity, Respect and Compassion in Maternity Services
Emma Lane & Victoria Holmes, Specialist Bereavement Midwives, St Marys Hospital, Manchester, provide a background of the area where they work and why the role of the Bereavement specialist midwife was created. Sharing women’s stories, they describe their role and explain bereavement and grief and why they felt improvement of compassionate and dignified care was needed. They share pointers to making a difference to practice, including transformation of the physical environment and things to say.
Emma Lane & Victoria Holmes, Specialist Bereavement Midwives, St Marys Hospital, Manchester
