Midwife-developed care package shortlisted for award

The package, called “Getting it right at the very beginning”, has been shortlisted for the “Research into Practice” category of the 2010 Royal College of Midwife Awards.

ABM consultant midwife Maggie Davies, who developed the package with senior midwife Elizabeth Rees.

Ms Davies explained: “We are really pleased to have made it to the shortlisted top three with this project. We introduced it as a pilot across ABM between August and October 2009 and the outcomes are very encouraging.

“Not only have we had very positive feedback from the women who received the care, but midwives have also seen the benefits.”

Following the pilot, the notes of 40 new mothers were reviewed. Of the women who had the care package, 11 per cent gave birth without any pain relief and 21 per cent used paracetamol to take the edge off the pain. The use of pethidine as an analgesic also reduced, and more women used natural pain relief like a birthing pool or bath.

Of the group that received the care package, 73 per cent had a normal birth, without any clinical interventions. The Caesarean Section rate was 13.5 per cent.

This compared with a 37.5 per cent normal birth rate for the women who didn’t have the early targeted support, and a Caesarean Section rate of 37.5 per cent.

The care package is a set of six proven actions which work in harmony to benefit the outcome of the labour and give women a positive birth experience.

One mother who took part in the pilot was Catrin Roberts, from Swansea, who gave birth to her first child, Jac Dafydd, in the Princess of Wales Hospital in September.

She said: “I can’t praise the service enough. The midwives were reassuring and made me feel they knew what they were doing. I felt like I was having individual care.”

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