Birth centres: financially viable? RCM senior policy analyst Sean O'Sullivan and independent consultant Suzanne Tyler discuss the true cost of birth centres and raise the question of their financially viability under Payment by Results.
The introduction of Payment by Results (PbR) is leading to greater transparency and openness in financial costings, which means that for the first time the economics of maternity services, including birth centres will be robustly scrutinised. The College has previously produced guidance on PbR that can be accessed in...
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Smoking key SIDS factor.
The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) has welcomed a review of evidence (Fleming and Blair, in press) as a reminder that maternal smoking is now the most important avoidable risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FSID scientific advisor...
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Magnesium sulphate and eclampsia.
This population-based descriptive study, using data from all 229 hospitals with consultant-led maternity units in the UK, studied all women who gave birth between February 2005 and February 2006. This was to estimate the incidence of eclampsia and to describe the management and associated outcomes since the introduction of...
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Can doulas provide a continuity of care that midwives are unable to?
yes A: Doulas are excellent for providing continuity of care, especially in this climate when staffing levels are so low. However, I do believe that the midwife is the best professional to provide continuity of care. Those women who are fortunate enough to have one-to-one midwifery care...
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Changes in pre-pregnancy body mass index.
A population-based, retrospective cohort analysis was performed in the US to determine whether changes in pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) between the first two pregnancies is associated with increased risk for large-for-gestational-age (LGA) birth in the second. The researchers report that the prevalence of overweight and obesity has doubled...
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The needs of high-risk antepartum women.
In Alberta, Canada, a qualitative descriptive study exploring the needs of hospitalised high-risk antepartum women was undertaken, from which recommendations from the women's perspective could be generated. Women were recruited from a high-risk antepartum unit and included those who were hospitalised for longer than a week from 23 weeks'...
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Telephone triage in maternity care: senior sister midwife Susan Kennedy in charge of the maternity triage department at Stirling Royal Infirmary at NHS Forth Valley details the wide and positive benefits that telephone triage has brought to both midwives and clients.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Until 2003, the maternity services within Forth Valley were delivered from two sites 12 miles apart, with two labour wards, two admission rooms and two maternity wards using two different models of midwifery care--traditional in Stirling and teams in Falkirk. Centralisation brought the service onto...
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Safer childbirth: the big picture: the newly-published minimum standards for care in labour have resulted from the joint work of four Royal Colleges including the RCM. Danny Ratnaike looks at what they set out and how midwives can help to ensure they are implemented.
The RCM and three other Royal Colleges have published new minimum standards for care in labour, underscoring the need for multidisciplinary teamwork and sufficient staffing levels in order to provide women-centred care. RCM practice and standards development advisor Mervi Jokinen states: 'The standards reinforce the importance for...
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Next year's RCM fees.
This year has been one of further development on behalf of members, having seen the introduction of a major review of benefits and services. Members are now able to access and update their membership details online by visiting the i-membership webpage on the College website. Renewal documents will be...
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Be the FULL STOP.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has launched a new campaign aiming to mobilise society to end child abuse. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NSPCC director and chief executive Dame Mary Marsh stated: 'People sometimes feel they cannot do much on their own...
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GBS mothers 'left in dark'.
Charity Group B Strep Support (GBSS) has warned that families are being let down because routine reliable testing for Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is not available to all women on the NHS. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GBSS founder Jane Plumb stated: 'Mothers in the UK are being...
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Interim review: a cause for optimism.
The refreshingly direct tone of Lord Darzi's interim review of the NHS bodes well for the full report due to be published in June next year in time for the 60th anniversary of the NHS. Lord Darzi writes in the first person with a passion and honesty, which must...
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Midwives honoured at Mary Seacole awards.
The work of three midwives was recognised at the Mary Seacole leadership and development awards last month. In a ceremony at the South African High Commission in London, Florence Kanikasamy was presented with a certificate on completing her evaluation of childbirth education, for which she won a development ward...
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RCM rejects pay offer for midwives in England: RCM Council members have rejected the government's revised pay offer for midwives in England at their most recent meeting, as it continued to ignore the Pay Review Body's recommendations.
The RCM Council has voted to reject the government's revised pay offer for midwives in England, but will not be taking any further action. RCM general secretary Dame Karlene Davis stated: 'The government have picked the pockets of midwives, who feel insulted by the offer. It has...
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New MUMs recipe book available.
An Edinburgh midwife has published her second recipe book to raise funds for healthcare projects in Malawi, following the huge popularity of her first. Linda McDonald's second collection of recipes includes a forward by the prime minister's wife Sarah Brown. The money raised through Malawi Underprivileged Mothers...
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Adverse clinical incidents: support for midwives: midwife and supervisor of midwives at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust in Halifax Kathryn Kershaw looks at how support for midwives involved in clinical incidents has developed in terms of accessibility and the type of help offered.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There has been an increase in the number of adverse clinical incidents over the last three years, possibly due to changes to the reporting policy, with a specific form completed in the event of an incident. Such reporting is intended to provide a positive contribution...
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Studying: ways to survive and thrive: student midwife at the University of Nottingham Lisa Common offers advice for students starting a pre-registration midwifery course based on her own experience.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As Chinese philosopher Confucius stated: 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.' Embarking on a pre-registration midwifery programme can be exciting, terrifying and life-changing. This article attempts to offer a reflection on some of the practical, personal, academic, physical and emotional...
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Public health: why the debate? Consultant midwives in public health Debbie Garrod at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and Sheena Byrom at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Central Lancashire discuss the importance of public health and its wide-ranging and long-lasting effects.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There has been much discussion in the UK over recent years about the positive impact of midwives' involvement in public health activity in the UK (Byrom, 2004; O Luanaigh and Carlson, 2005; Jewell, 2005; Edwards, 2005; Holmes and Brown, 2006; Bick, 2006). Other views--not so...
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Campaign for normal birth: beware of institutional defences! Head of midwifery Dawn Johnston and midwife psychotherapist Jo Harman at Darent Valley Hospital highlight the dangers of letting institutional norms affect practice.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Midwifery is going through real change with opportunities for midwives to feel confident about their role in providing care for mothers whose pregnancy is progressing normally. The National Service Framework (2004) highlights that: 'The need for medical interventions (are) recommended only when they are of...
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