Baby Shower Event Helps Homeless Mums-to-Be
With International Day of the Midwife on Sunday, May 5, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) is celebrating the amazing midwives that help the women, babies and families across Nottingham every day.
Midwives from NUH hosted a ‘baby shower’ event at a homeless hostel in Nottingham last week to promote messages of good health for mums-to-be and baby.
The team of five midwifery staff visited the expectant mothers at the hostel, based in Nottingham City Centre, to provide support and advice to the vulnerable women who are living without permanent accommodation. The midwives joined staff at the hostel, run by the charity Framework, to share healthy messages and give out gift packs donated by various charities and well-wishers.
At the event on Friday 27 April, the team, including Specialist Midwife Wendy Anderson and Barbara Singh, a Maternity Support Worker, shared healthy messages about safe sleeping for baby, being ‘fit for pregnancy’ which included tips on exercise and diet, feeding choices and breastfeeding, place of birth, and water births.
As well as further talks on emotional wellbeing, bonding with baby and building a healthy relationship with baby, the women based at the hostel also had an opportunity to ask questions, which were mostly focused on birth.
The items in the gift packs included: nappies, soft toys, wipes, toiletries for the mum-to-be, three new baby vests and three baby grows, sanitary items and muslins. Donations were collected from various charitable groups, including the charity Bundles of Joy, as well as students who have previously worked in the team who got together with friends to donate items for the women at the hostel.
Sharon Dickinson, Director of Midwifery at NUH, said: “Some of our specialist teams provide care for women who are extremely vulnerable and do not have permanent accommodation. Mortality and morbidity rates are higher for this group of women and their babies as accessing maternity services and receiving key public and pregnancy health messages can be challenging as women often don’t access our services or miss appointments. This was a fabulous opportunity, supported by charities, to engage with women and surprise them with unexpected goodies for both mum and baby.”