Post natal care vital

Royal College of Midwives launches campaign to improve care after childbirth.

Pressure Points is a new series of research reports from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) designed to highlight what they see as the shortcomings of post natal care in the UK.

The most recent report is called 24 hour signs and symptoms.

It focuses on how well mothers are being told, within 24 hours of the birth, of the signs and symptoms they need to look for in their own health and in the health of their new baby that should alert them to any need to seek medical attention.

The Royal College survey involved asking mothers, midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs), and they say the results they got back are ‘a concern’.

Only around a quarter of mothers (24 per cent), surveyed by Netmums, recalled being told about the signs and symptoms to look for, while almost a half (47 per cent) said they were definitely not told.

The RCM says women don’t get this information because midwives are overstretched and don’t have the time to give women the care they need - and deserve.

When surveyed by the RCM less than a quarter of midwives believed that the number of postnatal visits a woman received was determined by her needs; almost two thirds thought the number was determined by the pressures on their maternity unit.

Over a third of midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) said they wanted to spend more time with women at this crucial time.

Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “It is clear that there is a great deal of frustration amongst maternity care staff because they want to do more but can’t because of the lack of numbers.

“It is clear that mothers, babies and families are being short-changed when it comes to postnatal care.

“Midwives want to give better care but can’t because there aren’t enough of them, especially in England, and resources are too thinly spread.”

The first report in the Pressure Points series focused on improving the mental health and emotional wellbeing of new mothers.

The RCM is urging supporters to 'like' their campaign on Facebook, follow it on Twitter using the hashtag #pressurepoints and by sharing their infographic.

“Birth will always be special, but postnatal care is just as important to get right.

“Good maternal health and high quality maternity care throughout pregnancy and after birth can have a marked effect on the health and life chances of newborn babies, on the healthy development of children and on their resilience to health problems encountered later in life.

“Postnatal care is crucial in ensuring parents feel adequately supported and equipped with the skills and knowledge to give their baby the best possible start in life,” Warwick said.

“Please support our campaign to make sure that happens.”

Story published on Women's Views on News, 17 April 2014. 

Baby boom pressure on maternity services

England is 5,000 midwives short claims Royal College.

The Royal College of Midwives [RCM] has just published its annual State of Maternity Services report.

The report quotes figures from the Office for National Statistics which show the number of new babies born, especially in England, is booming.

There were 688,120 babies born in England in 2011, 124,000 or 22 per cent more than in 2001, the highest number since 1971.

This trend is set to continue, at least until 2014, when 743,000 babies are expected to be born in England, a third more than in 2001.

And the number of older mothers is also increasing, up 81 per cent in England since 2001 - and older mothers can experience more complications during pregnancy and birth than younger women.

Yet the number of midwives has barely kept pace with these changes.

There were 3,000 more midwives in England in 2012 than 2001, up 19 per cent.

The Royal College of Midwives estimates that England is short of 5,000 full time midwives, and this shortage is affecting the quality of care they can provide.

It quotes a Bounty Word of Mum survey in 2012 which found 20 per cent of respondents did not feel supported by the NHS during their pregnancy and birth, 40 per cent said they saw a different midwife each time and 30 per cent said they were not adequately supported after the birth.

In 2011 half of the midwives in England were over 45 years old, compared to a third in 2002.

The government plans an extra 2,576 training places in 2012/13, which should help reverse this trend, so the number of training places in England should reach 6,000 for the first time – a development the report hails as a ‘real milestone’.

But the RCM said had recently received reports from newly-qualified midwives saying that they were finding it hard to find work.

“Student midwives’ hard work and taxpayers’ money invested in their valuable training should not be squandered by a short-sighted approach to cost reduction,” said the report.

According to the report, the baby boom has trailed off in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but the RCM believes this should an opportunity to improve care, not cut midwife numbers.

Scotland has maintained training numbers, and the RCM believes there is not currently a shortage, but there could be in future, because of the age of current midwives.

The RCM has put Wales 'on watch', as training numbers have been trimmed and midwife numbers are falling.