Mums-to-be in Bradford are being given vital tips and information to have at their fingertips to help support them right through their pregnancy.
MAMA Wellbeing Wallets will be given to pregnant mums when they first come to hospital or a community setting to meet their midwife.
The Maternity Unit at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been given 6,000 of the wallets by Our Angels – a support group based in Harrogate which helps families who have lost a baby. The wallets were developed by the MAMA Academy – a charity that supports mums and midwives to help babies arrive safely and reduce stillbirths.
Born in Bradford
Sara Keogh, head of midwifery at the Trust, said she was overwhelmed by the donation from the charity, which has already given wallets to other Trusts in the region. Around 6,000 babies are born in Bradford each year, so each expectant mum will receive one over the next 12 months.
“This is a really simple but very effective way of giving mums key tips and advice – such as call your midwife if you’ve not noticed baby move for a while, and reminders of what types of food isn’t safe to eat while you’re pregnant,” said Sara.
“We know that some women may put off calling the Maternity Unit if they’re unsure about anything, but the information in the wallet tells them clearly when they should do that – so they can get any concerns checked out as soon as possible, and have a healthy pregnancy and baby.”
Bradford’s Maternity Unit has only just started giving out the wallets but already midwives have noticed that women regularly read the information printed on their wallet while waiting for appointments: encouraging them to act on concerns rather than ignore them.
Key messages
This ensures that key messages such as monitoring babies’ movements become second nature to the woman as she carries the wallet with her.
The information contained on the wallets complements the work of NHS England’s Saving Babies’ Lives care bundle currently in development, and is in line with the new safer pregnancy messaging by Sands and Department of Health. The wallets are also supported by The Royal College of Midwives.
The wallets form part of the national stillbirth initiative work. They act as great conversation starters for midwives to empower mums with knowledge about possible pregnancy conditions and midwives love giving a gift to their mums.