University of Greenwich Midwifery society

I cannot believe it is 2015 already! I qualify next year… Oh my goodness.

2014 closed with an exciting month, a brand new placement setting and the launch of the University of Greenwich Midwifery society!

The midwifery society was set up to compliment the degree programme, and is a chance to expand our knowledge with student midwives from other cohorts. I was excited for the opportunity to network with midwives, doulas, and whoever else attending with a passion for midwifery and obstetrics. I had been anticipating this event for some time, with the line-up being as impressive as it was. We had the honour of world-renowned obstetrician Michel Odent heading up the launch event, as well as midwives Amanda Burleigh and Tara Pauley delivering seminars.

Amanda Burleigh spoke to us about the importance of delayed cord clamping. Those who are ‘pro’ cord clamping had a real breakthrough just last month when the latest NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) guidelines recommended not clamping and cutting the cord for at least one minute after the baby is born. At delivery, the placenta still contains up to 1/3 of the baby’s blood supply, and has been associated with a lower incidence of infant anaemia. I find this image of twins below really interesting. Baby A (on the left) had immediate cord clamping and Baby B had delayed cord clamping. Look at the difference in colour!

We then had Tara Pauley, a research midwife, talk to us about her complementary therapies clinic she has recently set up at Hitchengbrooke Trust for post-dates women. As I have mentioned in a previous post, after a lecture on complementary therapies by guest speaker Denise Tirran, I was very keen to learn more. Tara and her team offer services to their maternity clients including acupuncture and aromatherapy alongside optional membrane sweep with the aim of reducing their unit’s induction rate- which they have by a fantastic 5 percent! The NMC states that ‘You must ensure that the use of complementary or alternative therapies is safe and in the best interests of those in your care’ and ‘Registrants must have successfully undertaken training and be competent to practice the administration of complementary and alternative therapies’. Becoming a qualified complementary therapist is something I am interested in upon qualifying- however evidence on its benefits are sparse and often inconclusive. It is estimated that around 80% of pregnant women are now using complementary therapies- however this is rarely disclosed or documented with midwives. Whilst complementary/alternative therapies can be advantageous, they can be very dangerous when not used correctly- this includes ‘natural remedies’ like the well-known raspberry leaf tea. It is important for women to be aware that everything has its contraindications. I was surprised by the vast amount of women using complementary therapies and felt that my knowledge base in this area was still limited. With this in mind I decided to contact Tara Pauley and arrange an observational placement in her clinic for my transition project in July. To my excitement, Hitchengbrooke trust are happy to have me and I cannot wait to work with them in the Summer!

The final speaker of the evening was Michel Odent, who is famous for introducing concepts like home-like birth environments, birthing pools, and the application of ‘gate control theory of pain’ to obstetrics. Michel Odent is known for a few controversial opinions too, such as his view that men should not be in the birthing room. Despite being a relatively new expectation of fathers, it already seems engrained into our culture. Whilst historically women have been known to labour alone or with only female companions, I am not sure I entirely agree with Odent’s statement. Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to debate this topic with him on the night! However, the in-depth discussions on the use of water in labour, cultural conditioning and microbirth were equally fascinating.

Here are few pictures from the night- a big thank you to the amazing Midwifery Society for putting together such a fab event!