Julia Andrew

What an incredible honour. I'm beyond proud of the amazing team of midwives, obstetricians, anaesthetists, support staff, who truly know what it means to deliver #personalisation, choice & human rights-centred maternity care. This award is for all of us. #teamcmido @SaschaWells

@drruthannharpur @FionaQuigs @theodoraclarke I would argue that they are not. They are a listening and signposting appointment. Also to ensure the right support is identified and referred to, be it specialist therapies assessment or guidance through the complaints procedure. They also identify areas for improvement/themes.

@FionaQuigs @theodoraclarke Chance to reflect on anything about your birth you’re unhappy with with a midwife for an hour. Imho a weird pseudo-counselling service run by clinicians who don’t have comprehensive counselling or therapy training providing an intervention with no good evidence base

Am I alone in skepticism and a general sense of frustration at the #BirthTraumaInquiry? A very long 🧵 I get where @Theodoraclarke is coming from. She, like so many others, have had terrible experiences in maternity care including experiences of life threatening medical complications, medical negligence, cruelty from staff. Who doesn’t want to do better than this? Who doesn’t want to ensure that babies enter the world safely, causing the least possible injury to their mothers on the way out as possible? While a survey of women’s experiences inviting women who identify as having had a traumatic birth can tell us important information about current bad experiences of maternity care, it cannot be used to conclude that bad care is the norm rather than the exception as this survey will not include women who don’t consider their experiences of maternity care to be poor. It also doesn’t tell us why maternity care is so poor or why there are so many preventable deaths and a slew of bereaved families every year who will live with the consequences of medical negligence for the rest of their lives. WHAT is responsible (not just WHO) for the cruelty with which women are treated and the casual disregard of women who ask for, and sometimes end up pleading for, medical care and to be taken seriously. This inquiry hasn't come close to examining what is happening to begin to answer these questions much less work out how to turn things around. And yet.. once again, we see the usual faces, the NCT CEO seizing the opportunity for a photo op and everyone jumping on with their pet recommendation that they are sure, so sure, will make big difference to mums. (And yes, I hate it when they call us mums too) -an extra appointment for mums as well as babies at the 6 week cheek -birth reflections services -a new maternity minister -more antenatal education But here’s the rub. We have one way to facilitate safe medical care and it has a wonderful tendency to substantially reduce life threatening complications and deaths in maternity care. And that is, quite simply, the implementation of science based medicine. Do we have evidence as to what the specific purpose of an additional 6 week check would be and that it would improve outcomes for women? Can grown women not decide for themselves if and when they need a GP appointment or are we going to fill GP’s surgeries with healthy women who do not need additional medical care over and above what is currently offered? Or do we risk women taking additional time, transport costs and effort to make 2 trips to a GP surgery instead of one? Do we have evidence that birth reflections service produce favourable outcomes? Or do we risk potentially doing more harm than good with non mental health professionals attempting to provide an ill-defined and not evidenced psychological intervention without any comprehensive mental health assessment? Do we give services the opportunity to divert women away from a formal complaints process if they are unhappy with the care they have received? What would a maternity minister actually do? Politics in health care does not always lead to sound healthcare policy or practice. Will we get what pleases the current zeitgeist of the electorate, something inevitably created and informed by the many businesses (including charities, because charities are also businesses) vying for influence and market share. Informed by scientific evidence about what would actually make maternity care safer and more effective… I very much doubt it. And antenatal education’s dark history of seeing to de-medicalise birth, promote “normality” and eschew pain relief leaves my blood running cold at the suggestion of more of it. Why do women need anyone other than the qualified health care professionals who are responsible for their care to influence their medical care?

The #BirthTraumaInquiry findings show how vital birth partners are in helping women & birthing people advocate. Birth partners aren't visitors. Our 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 shows what actions to take if impacted by 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: bit.ly/partnerres?lat…

In the words of @VictoriaAtkins this is not just professional, this is personal. We all have a reason, and a duty, to influence change. I would have liked to have seen better use of inclusive/additive language in the report however. Let's use our voices and platforms properly 2/2

I'm so proud of my involvement and contribution to the APGG #BirthTraumaInquiry and was delighted to have been invited to the report launch in Parliament yesterday by @theodoraclarke and @RosieDuffield1 1/2

Read the Birth Trauma Report in full here: theo-clarke.org.uk/birth-trauma *TRIGGER WARNING - READ WITH CARE*

@theodoraclarke @VictoriaAtkins @RosieDuffield1 @BirthTrauma Thank you Theo, Rosie & @BirthTrauma team for all your work in getting this report to fruition. I look forward to hearing from SoS later today on actions in response to the 1300 women & families who came forward. We need to act now: well meaning & warm words will not be enough

I have presented the Prime Minister @RishiSunak with his copy of our Birth Trauma Inquiry report and I call on the Government to implement our recommendations in full so that all mums get the after care they need in 🇬🇧. #BirthTraumaInquiry

@carolinenewson @MarianKeyes Thank you. She's definitely not able to switch off enough to read yet but she adored reading so I hope one day she will and it will be there waiting for her.

@carolinenewson @MarianKeyes I just bought this for my sister in law ❤️ for when she can absorb herself in books again. MK is her favourite too, and this book resonates as she and my brother share a similar story.

“If people find the idea of freebirth worrying, they should focus less on the risks associated with the act, and more on the risks women are trying to avoid.” (As always, freebirth based on active desire and freebirth coerced by circumstance are two distinct things)

@carolinenewson I am so sorry to hear you have not been held by your family. I unexpectedly lost my brother 2weeks ago, I honestly don't know how my sis in law would have gotten through the days since without all of us supporting her, now & always. So sorry you haven't had that.Breaks my heart.

@Lou_RMN_PDOPS 8????!!! Wow!

@FoNScharity @GraceatFoNS @5sue2 Well done both!

We've issued a joint statement urgently calling on the govt to abandon its Rwanda Bill and prioritise the development of a fair, humane and effective asylum system, which respects the fundamental rights, health & dignity of people seeking safety in the UK: bit.ly/3PhJ0os

Today, a woman who I didn't know, called out to me to say she loved my dress and that I looked beautiful. I replied, "I love your pink hair and happy #InternationalWomensDay !"  We should celebrate each other every day 🫶 #IWD24

🎉It’s official - Sherwood Forest Hospitals has retained its crown as the best NHS acute trust to work for anywhere in the Midlands for an incredible SIXTH year running!

Absolutely loved the creativity of our feeding lead @natboxall and team with the launch of new posters yesterday. Furbies and Fingerlings to demonstrate responsiveness to human connection...inspired! The idea for artwork by maternity staff to express conversations is genius!

@carolinenewson Thinking of you Caroline. What a beautiful photo.

Still time to grab a free ticket for tomorrow to join us talking #lithotomychallange and more eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-lithotom… @MidwiferyForum #matexp #10yearsofMatExp