2011 Iolanthe Midwifery Trust Awards

 

Midwives who came to celebrate at the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust’s awards presentation event on September 22, 2011, represented almost every aspect of the profession and its work, as well as midwifery carried out in a wide range of locations, within the UK and elsewhere. The common factor was a feeling summed up in the words of Manchester midwife Alison Cooke: “ … Filled with enthusiasm and new knowledge for my research and clinical practice“. Alison was speaking after her experience of travelling to South Africa to present her research at the ICM congress.

 

Photo shows: L to R: Rebecca Rogers, Nathalie Barnetche, Catrin Mattison, Laura Mundy, Jude Davis, Lucy Jepson [Celina, Helen, Julia], Michelle Beacock kneeling, Jill Blakey, Deirdre Thajam, Alison Cooke, Ellie Jenkins, Rachel Beckett.

The 2011 Iolanthe Midwifery Trust award ceremony was held at  the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health’s Council Chamber. Before the details of the winners’ projects were heard, the evening symposium opened with a warm greeting from the charity’s chair, Dr Helen Cheyne. This was followed by a short talk from Professor Neena Modi, vice president of the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health, who amused the audience with anecdotes of her overseas work. The main presentation of the symposium was given by Professor Debra Bick, who explored the widening differences between the four countries of the UK, as regards midwifery policy, practice and education.

 

Baroness Cumberlege, the patron of the Trust, spoke of her pleasure at being asked to present the awards to the winners, and her continuing deep interest in the work of midwives. Some of the award winners, like Catrin Mattison, Antigone Claustres, Rebecca Rogers, Nathalie Barnetche, Carleen Jones and Michelle Beacock had flown across the world to experience midwifery in Ghana, Kenya, Peru, Tonga and the USA. Alison Cooke, Deirdre Thajam, Ellie Jenkins and Jill Blakey had furthered their research into delayed childbearing, misused drugs in pregnancy, midwives’ access to information on the labour ward or midwives’ views of normality. A focus on practice was highlighted by the projects of Laura Mundy and Jude Davis, who are helping midwives improve their suturing skills, while Lucy Jepson took a course in counselling to enhance her ability to work with bereaved parents.

 

Rachel Beckett, winner of the third Tricia Anderson award, fascinated the audience with a description of her project to create a website that offers the opportunity to use music for women in labour.

 

Full details of the award winners are given below.

 

 

 The IOLANTHE TRICIA ANDERSON AWARD was awarded to Rachel Beckett, midwife at the Salford Royal Foundation Trust, for her project on ‘Using music during labour and birth - an online resource’.

 

Rachel founded Birthbeats an online resource for parents-to-be and health professionals to promote the benefits of using music during labour and birth.  The web site provides information on the benefits of using music during labour and birth; and allows parents-to-be to select a track and play it through Spotify. As Rachel said: "This is a small and simple idea however it has the potential to be easily applied to practice and therefore positively impact on an infinite quantity of birth experiences, like the ripples when a stone is cast into a pool."

 

 

Photo shows: Alison Cooke at the ICC in Durban

Iolanthe MidwiVes Awards

In Durbantwo midwives shared their research with midwives from around the world. Deirdre Thajam, from St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester, "was impressed by the energy of midwives from all over the world who are striving to make motherhood a safe physical and psychological experience for every woman." Alison Cooke, from the Central Manchester NHS Foundation Trust ,"left South Africa with respect for a different culture in which the midwifery profession thrives in the face of adversity."

  • Alison Cooke, research midwife at the Central Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, to attend the ICM Triennial Congress in Durban, South Africa,  and present a paper on women’s experiences of delayed childbearing.                                   Alison's report 

  • Deirdre Thajam, research fellow at the Maternal & Fetal Health Research Centre, St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester, also went to the ICM Congress and presented on fetal susceptibility to drugs of misuse.                                                                     Deirdre's report.

Other awards went to:

  • Laura Mundy, midwife at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff  -  to develop a training programme for midwives in assessment of perineal trauma, as part of her MSc in Professional Practice at the University of Glamorgan. Laura also received the Ann Stewart Award for commitment to midwifery practice

  • Lucy Jepson, midwife at the Sandwell & West Birmingham, to pursue a course leading to an Ascentis Level 3 Counselling Diploma. Lucy received the Dame Rosalind Paget Award for holistic, woman-centred care

  • Jude Davis, Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth, to organise a perineal suturing study day for midwives in Aberystwyth     Read why 2011 was a good year for Welsh perinea!

  • Ellie Jenkins, midwife at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, to support her DClinP studies and enable travel to Denmark to present a conference paper on the use of ethnographic research in healthcare

  • Jill Blakey, senior midwife at the Countess of Chester NHS Trust, who is undertaking an MSc in Midwifery at the University of Salford, to assist with costs of her dissertation on midwives’ views of normality. Jill's report 

        

Iolanthe Student Awards, supported by MIDIRS, were awarded to:

  • Antigone Claustres, University of Surrey, to enable her to travel to Ghana and experience placements in two contrasting areas. She "was reminded how strong women are and how brilliant the human body is, and got to make great friends and amazing memories along the way." Tiggy captured her experience on film and this earned her a runner up place in the Big Picture 2012. Antigone's Report

 

  • Rebecca Rogers, Oxford Brookes University, to undertake a four-week placement in Nanyuki Cottage Hosital, Kenya. Rebecca got "caught in the “Wait-a-bit” tree" and "left Kenya with a great respect and love for a people rich in culture, tradition, faiths and generosity who, despite these things daily face the harsh realities of the fight to stay afloat." Read Rebecca's Report

 

  • Carleen Jones, Bournemouth University, to visit Vaiola Hospital in Tonga, to learn about care for obese women in pregnancy. She described her visit to the Tongan island of Tongatapu as "a truly amazing and rewarding experience which has provided me with memories that will last a lifetime."    Read Carleen's report

 

 

Rebecca Rogers participates in a home visit in Nguruman

 

Michelle Beacock

 

        

  • Catrin Mattison, Liverpool John Moores University, to fund a placement in Takoradi, Ghana

 

  • Nathalie Barnetche, Kings College London, for a month’s placement at a natural birthing and traditional medicine clinic in Peru

 

  • Michelle Beacock, student at Edge Hill University, for a placement at the Sacred Waters Birth Centre in Eugene, Oregon, USA.  Read about Michelle

 

 

 

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