Since receiving the Norah Faith Coniam Award in 2023 from the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust, I have utilised the grant in several ways.
The grant contributed to my final year of my part time Masters of Research in Womens Health and Reproductive Science at University College London. The final year of this programme saw me undertake a module in Fetal and Maternal Medicine.
This final module included information on attributable causes of miscarriage from placental implantation issues to environmental factors such as pollution. My final year research project focuses on the acceptability of virtual reality headsets for women undergoing manual vacuum aspiration procedures in the outpatient setting.
To assess this, I am auditing the miscarriage pathway for six months in the Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU) at West Middlesex Hospital alongside the feedback for the VR Headsets.
Having the opportunity to embark on this programme of study thanks in part to the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust has really given me such insight into trends, patterns and connections with early pregnancy loss and the families experiencing it.
The grant afforded me the opportunity to go to different conferences and share the innovation of the virtual head set use with other professionals and stake holders. In November 2023 myself and my colleague Miss Natalie Nunes successfully submitted an abstract to the Association of Early Pregnancy Units which was displayed at their annual conference.
This year myself and Miss Nunes attended the Birmingham Rewired conference as speakers to present our work with pregnancy loss and the provision of the VR headsets. These conferences enabled me to network with clinicians, digital companies and individuals who have been touched by pregnancy loss.
Both the opportunity to undertake a programme of study and disseminate my work would not have been possible without the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust's support. The parents of Norah Faith Coniam providing their generous grant has meant that I have been able to develop further as a clinician and to get the word out that there are people developing themselves with the view to supporting parents who experience loss.
Furthermore, having the opportunity to study at UCL has reignited my passion in academia and I have started applying for PhD funding to enable me to study the potential benefits of a case loading model from early pregnancy to twenty four weeks of pregnancy. This would be a midwife led model where I would perform ultrasound examinations, give midwifery care and would be an accredited prescriber so that I can prescribe medications.
The hope is that this joined up model of care will bridge the gap between care typically given in the early pregnancy unit and maternity services, and promote better outcomes in pregnant people and their families.
Thank you, Iolanthe Midwifery Trust, and the family of Norah Faith Coniam - without your generous grant none of this would have been possible.
