ABM midwives win national midwifery award

Maggie Davies, consultant midwife, and Liz Rees, a birth centre midwife, have scooped  the prize for their work at the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board to improve care women receive from midwives during labour. The awards were held at the Royal Garden Hotel Kensington. Attending the ceremony was RCM Patron Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, Princess Anne. 

Maggie and Liz’s award-winning entry called, “Getting it right at the very beginning – Care Bundle for the latent phase of labour,” involved offering a structured midwifery practice approach to women to help them prevent developing complications during labour.  The midwives developed a Care Bundle, or package of care for women, using an acrostic, or poetry technique using the first lettered of a word to convey an educational message about caring for women during the latent stage of labour.

The judges said: “This project has a strong training component and filled a much-needed gap in practice. It demonstrates a new approach to organising care in an area normally lacking attention. We liked the way this project demonstrated real listening, while supporting and empowering mothers. It is very pertinent to current work on care bundles.” 

Cathy Warwick, general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “This award highlights the important, innovative and pioneering work being done by Maggie and Liz.  I congratulate them on their commitment to the profession. It is important for people to know that midwifery education does not stand still and is constantly evolving. When midwives are given the resources, support and freedom to develop their work and learning, the result is better services, better care and better outcomes for mothers, babies and their families.”

Maggie Davies, consultant midwife, said: “It is an honour and a privilege to receive this award and I am extremely proud that the RCM has highlighted my work to engage with midwives and promote education and clinical issues.”

Liz Rees, birth centre midwife, said: I was really pleased to be part of this project and now realise that by spending valuable time with women in the latent phase of labour will help make the experience positive for them. 

For more information and to receive art of the midwives, contact the RCM Press Office on 020 7312 3456, or The Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board’s Communications Office on 01639 683330 or 01639 68331 or email susan.bailey@abm-tr.wales.nhs.uk or Paul.batcup@abm-tr.wales.nhs.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of Midwives is the voice of midwifery. We are the UK’s only trade union and professional organisation led by midwives for midwives. The vast majority of the midwifery profession are our members. The RCM promotes midwifery, quality maternity services and professional standards. We support and represent our members individually and collectively in all four UK countries.  We influence on behalf of our members and for the interests of the women and families for which they care.  For more information visit the RCM website at www.rcm.org.uk.

The 2010 awards are the eighth Royal College of Midwives Annual Midwifery Awards. Prizes are given across 13 categories. There is also an award for Midwife of the Year - The Johnson’s baby Mums’ Midwife of the Year - and two midwives will also receive an educational bursary (the Ruth Davis Awards). The winners will be announced at a ceremony attended by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal – Patron of The Royal College of Midwives - on 27^th January 2010 at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London.

About the Award-winning “Getting it right at the very beginning – care bundle for the latent phase of labour.”

The latent phase of labour, especially for women expecting their first baby, will always be a challenge for midwives. Factors may contribute to a prolonged latent phase, problems consistently associated with it are maternal anxiety and a mal-positioned, incorrect position of the baby’s head.

This project offered a structured approach to care to women, aiming to prevent complications. Based on the Structure Early Labour Assessment and Care by Nurses (SELAN Trial, Hodnett 2008) and using the word LATENT a midwife developed a care bundle for the latent phase using the acrostic poetry technique.

 According to the SELAN trial, the following care bundle may have the potential to:

 • increase normal birth by 3%

• improve women’s satisfaction regarding their maternity services

• reduce complaints, traditionally experiences in the latent phase have been a hot spot for complaints.

 The Care Bundle the midwives identified for their project involved:

L - Look and listen: Observe the woman, take a history of her pregnancy and recent events

A - Assess maternal observations: Fetal heart, contractions - frequency/strength, assess her pain using the pain score. Palpate the uterus to determine fetal position.

T – Time: Take the woman to a quiet area and give her time – approximately one hour. Watch and listen.

E – Encouragement: Give her encouragement, ask her to describe her feelings. Turn any negative thoughts into positive actions. Discuss optimal fetal positioning.

N - Non-pharmacological pain relief: Discuss coping mechanisms, breathing and relaxation techniques, the use of hot and cold massage, showers and baths. Offer TENS, birthing balls. Carry on every day activities, mobilising, eating and drinking as normal.

T – Telephone: After the woman has gone home, telephone later to establish what is going on. If going off duty, give the woman the name of the midwife who will take over her care.

The Care Bundle is currently being piloted in a Helath Board where 6500 babies are born every year. It is being used on antenatal wards, stand alone birth centres and integrated community teams. Initial results of using the technique are favourable with women seeming to be more satisfied with their care.

Overall, the midwives found that using the care bundle: 

• increased normal birth rate

• increased women’s satisfaction and, therefore, decrease complaints

• structured care for women, therefore, helping the midwives

By increasing the normal birth rate and decreasing the complaints, therefore, added value to the service offered to women.