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Other Resources Archive

2018

What’s in a kiss? is a campaign working in conjunction with the NHS to raise awareness of Neonatal Herpes Simplex – a rare but fatal illness. To adults it’s just a cold sore, but this can mean life or death to a baby. #whatsinakiss

Watch the video
View the poster

Sands continues to make progress with the National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP) project in collaboration with other charities and with the support of the Department of Health and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Baby Loss.

Find out more

A series of short animated films on FGM have been developed by the RCM in collaboration with the RCOG, the RCGP, survivors of FGM, NGOs and a variety of local community partners. The RCM and its partners worked closely with FGM survivors to ensure the authenticity of the stories being told via the animations remained true to the realities of surviving FGM.

Watch the animations

Sands Lothians (stillbirth and neonatal death society) have produced an animation about post mortems for newly bereaved parents to help with difficult conversations and decisions at a traumatic time. The film was created from the experiences of other bereaved parents.

Watch the animation

Guidance for pregnant women immunised with MMR, chickenpox and shingles vaccine.

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NHS Choices website answers essential questions such as: Is it safe to drink alcohol when pregnant?, How does alcohol affect my unborn baby? How to avoid alcohol in pregnancy? What is a unit of alcohol? Plus, information about alcohol support services.

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The stillbirth prevention charity, MAMA Academy, have produced leaflets for pregnant women which contain the official Dept of Health safer pregnancy messaging. They are available free of charge to all NHS Trusts, midwives, GP surgeries and Sure Start Centres. They are also available in various different languages including Arabic, Bengali, Punjabi, French, Turkish, Portuguese, Spanish, Welsh, Polish, Urdu and Chinese.

Please email [email protected] to order your free copies.

MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Confidential Enquiry Report has been published and explained the findings on term, singleton, intrapartum stillbirth and intrapartum related neonatal death.

Read the report

The Department of Health published an action plan in October 2016 outlining a number of initiatives at national level as well as practical action to build leadership at local level to champion maternity services and support local teams. The National Maternity Safety Strategy reports on progress against that initial action plan. It also proposes a number of further steps that can be made to prevent serious incidents in maternity services.

Read the report

NHS England have published guidance on continuity of carer in maternity services. The document aims to support local maternity systems implement continuity of carer.

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A selection of bereavement support tools are available for RCM members on their website. Working in partnership with Sands, the RCM has produced a number of articles to for members to use.

Access the website

2017

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has published the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA); its first annual clinical report. The report presents a set of 16 outcomes for births between 1 April 2015 – 31 March 2016 in England, Scotland and Wales. This clinical report is a ground-breaking collaboration between three Royal Colleges and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The audit, the largest of its kind in the world, presents a comprehensive overview of the state of maternity care across Britain. It has been developed using electronic data which midwives, doctors, other healthcare professionals and informatics departments enter as part of their everyday practice.
Death Before Birth: Understanding, informing and supporting choices made by people who have experienced miscarriage, termination and stillbirth is a two-year ESRC-funded project, carried out by researchers from the Universities of Birmingham and Bristol. They looked at the experiences of women who had gone through early pregnancy loss, such as miscarriage, terminations for foetal anomaly or stillbirth before 24 weeks.

Further details of the project can be found at: deathbeforebirthproject.org

Read the report

Macmillan has developed an information booklet in partnership with the charity Mummy’s Star, for women diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy. It’s estimated that 1 in every 1,000 pregnant women is diagnosed with cancer. The booklet also explains the emotional and practical issues women may experience in this situation and talks about the treatment and support that is available.

Free copies of the booklet can be ordered or downloaded from: https://be.macmillan.org.uk/be/s-864-cancer-and-pregnancy.aspx

The Maternity Bereavement Experience Measure (MBEM) questionnaire and supporting resource was created collaboratively by Sands, NHS England and the London Maternity Clinical Network. The questionnaire was designed to seek feedback from bereaved parents where a baby or babies have died during pregnancy or shortly after birth.

Watch the videos here

Age Connects ‘Voyager’ project provides talking therapy for older people who have recently moved into a care home in Denbighshire, Wales. The initiative helps to prevent any potential deterioration in the mental health of older people when transitioning into care. The service is free and confidential.

Read more about Voyager

Read more about Age Connects

Macmillan has developed an information booklet in partnership with the charity Mummy’s Star, for women diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy. It explains some of the emotional and practical issues experienced by women in this situation, as well as the treatment options and support available to them during this difficult and complex time.

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The Pelvic Partnership aims to provide support and information about Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) to women with PGP and their families and carers. The main aim of the charity is to provide women and healthcare professionals with information about best practice for the treatment and management of pregnancy-related PGP, and to enable and empower women to access the right treatment.

Visit the website

Safer Pregnancy Wales is a yearlong campaign developed by the Wales Maternity Network in collaboration with 1000 Lives Improvement. The campaign highlights the importance of keeping safe during pregnancy to reduce the risk of stillbirth and aims to help expectant mothers and healthcare professionals talk about what can be done to keep safe and reduce the risk of stillbirth.

Visit the website for further information

Medway NHS Foundation Trust has developed a communication tool to escalate the care of unwell newborn babies between healthcare professionals. LABOUR (Location, Age, Birth type, Ongoing concerns, Urgency, and Risk factors) is the name of the tool, designed to provide specific and timely information to clinicians so they can deploy appropriate healthcare resources efficiently.

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A Perinatal pathway for babies with palliative care needs has been developed by Together for Short Lives with expert input from ethicists and clinicians working across obstetrics, antenatal and neonatal care, and children’s palliative care.

It is designed to support health professionals to deliver sensitive and timely support, enabling families to spend time with their baby in a more home-like environment, and with as little technologically dependent care as possible.

Register free here to read the pathway

Bliss offers a wide range of emotional and practical support to empower families of babies born premature or sick and equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to provide the best possible care for their baby.

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The Parkinson’s UK website offers support and information about symptoms, treatments and living with Parkinsons. It also offers advice on everything from work, driving, diet and exercise to emotional issues and relationships.

For more information

Dementia UK offers advice to families facing dementia on their website along with an invitation to subscribe to their newsletter. Recent topics include: changes in behaviour at dusk, the use of dolls in dementia care, delirium (confusion) and grief, bereavement and loss.

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NHS England have issued a Patient Safety Alert signposting to newly published resources to support safer care for full-term babies. This is part of the Atain programme which is working to support the prevention of harm that can lead to newborns being admitted to neonatal units.

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The latest MBRRACE-UK newsletter has been published. It covers the Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care annual report, Sharing practice articles and Perinatal mortality surveillance update.

Read the newsletter here

The London Maternity Clinical Network have produced their latest highlight report. It covers headlines and activities about the Clinical Network Working Groups along with an update on the Maternity Transformation Programme.

Download Report

A guide has been developed by the London Clinical Networks and Healthy London Partnership to help understand the complexity of the perinatal mental health pathway. It highlights key priorities and has been produced with input from health and social care professionals.

Perinatal guide

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) have launched a bi-monthly newsletter which is aimed at people who are interested in nursing and midwifery education. They also have an informative online education hub.

Newsletter sign up here | Online hub

2016

An e-learning tool will soon be available to those who work in the NHS. It will support staff to gain knowledge and understanding of issues around culture and health.

Follow the twitter conversation at: #culturematterstome

A new resource is available regarding the use of electronic cigarettes in pregnancy and further advice on smoking for pregnant women can be found on the RCM website.

Read more | Visit RCM

Sands has updated its Pregnancy loss and the death of a baby guidelines for professionals.

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The UK Sepsis Trust provides maternal clinical toolkits on their website, invaluable resources for health professionals.

Visit the website

MAMA Academy is offering a Pregnancy essential leaflet and free poster for display in antenatal areas.

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Wellbeing Wallets can help women identify symptoms of potential pregnancy complications. They are available to purchase at cost price by Trusts.

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UNICEF BFI have launched ‘Commissioning Infant Feeding Services: a toolkit. This publication provides guidance to help local commissioners protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

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A collaborative project between Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, aimed at reducing the rate of maternal mortality from indirect causes

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New guidelines which summarise the evidence on maternal and fetal outcomes in women with epilepsy – June 2016

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New guidelines for sickness in pregnancy from the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists – June 2016

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A guide has been developed by Action on Smoking in Health (ASH) for the use of electronic cigarette in pregnancy. It is intended to provide a summary of the evidence on electronic cigarettes and suggested responses to frequently asked questions.

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Antenatal screening for rubella susceptibility in England to stop from 1 April 2016 following approval from ministers.

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The London Maternity Strategic Clinical Networks have produced an update covering recent headlines and key milestones.

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As of March 2016, Public Health England have issued updated travel guidance advice related to pregnant women and the Zika virus.

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NHS England is working with independent research agency IpsosMORI to conduct a survey looking at how changes to NHS central policy are communicated to nurses and midwives. This project looks to deliver an up-to date picture of what nurses’ and midwives’ needs and preferences are in relation to communication.

Take part here

The London Maternity Strategic Clinical Networks have produced a bulletin to highlight their current work programmes.

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2015

Fetal Monitoring best practice toolkit produced by the London Strategic Clinical Network.

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From 1 November 2015, a provision in the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requiring public authorities to notify the Home Office when they encounter a potential victim of modern slavery came into force.

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From 31 October 2015, healthcare professionals must report to the police any cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) in girls under 18 that they come across in their work.

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The London Maternity Strategic Clinical Networks and the Royal College of Midwives collaborate on a Better Births Initiative.
As Co Clinical Director Donna Ockenden fully endorses and is proud to support this endeavour.

Watch here

A brief to accompany the film