Charitable & Speaking

Yesterday marked the end of Baby Loss Awareness Week, and families across the world joined the global Wave of Light at 7pm by lighting a candle in memory of all the babies who are no longer with us.

This year, my team and I were able to turn Nottingham City Council and Chichester District Council houses blue and pink to show our support and to help raise awareness of pregnancy and baby loss.

This would have meant so much to so many. Thank you to everyone that supported Baby Loss Awareness Week 2024.

#BLAW2024

This Baby Loss Awareness Week, I am supporting the Sands – baby loss charity campaign to raise awareness of pregnancy & baby loss. This year, our team have worked with Nottingham Council, and Chichester Council to light their council buildings blue & pink to honour all babies who have died.
https://lnkd.in/eQzSw8vf

If you would like extra support from a charity – you can find charities that are able to support you here: https://www.donnaockenden.com/support-for-families/  or https://babyloss-awareness.org/organisations/
hashtag#BLAW2024

Delighted to have attended the Baby Lifeline National Maternity Safety Conference yesterday, alongside colleagues and families from across the country.

As honorary president, I am proud to have chaired the ‘Progress in Partnership’ session that explored how the Royal Colleges can work together with NHSE to provide women and their families with the care they need and deserve.

Some really interesting conversations on recovering maternity services post-Covid, maternity care in the face of war, developing maternity services through lived experience, and how providers can adopt a more person-centered approach to care.

One of the common themes was that we need to listen to women. All women. The ‘hard to reach’ communities are in fact not hard to reach, and they deserve to have their voices heard & amplified. A thought-provoking video shared by Angie Doshani explored how vital it is that we are able to provide care for women whose first language isn’t English, AND for those women who can speak SOME English so that we are able to provide informed care. I would love to see the JANAMApp in use within Trusts across the country so that we are able to provide this support.

So many fantastic speakers, whose discussions have truly left an impact and I will certainly be sharing your insights with my team: Sir Rob Behrens CBE, Professor Lucy Easthope, Clotilde Rebecca Abe, Larysa Cheprasova, 

Alina Dunayevska, Viktoriya Luchka, Amber Marshall, Geeta Nayar, Shakila Thangaratinam, & Dr Angie Doshani, to name but a few.

#MatSafety2024 The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists | RCOG