Student midwives set up first Midwifery Society
Thu, 03 Jan 2013 11:46:00 GMT
More than 60 students, lecturers and independent midwives attend launch study day
Pictured with study day speaker Shawn Walker (centre) are student organisers Theresa Mason (left) and Lauren Ramoth
DETERMINED to add to their range of skills and knowledge, student midwives at the University of Huddersfield have set up their own society to organise special study days with visiting experts.
The Huddersfield Midwifery Society – initiated by second-year students Theresa Mason and Lauren Ramoth – has now been successfully launched. More than 60 students, lecturers and some independent midwives attended a day of talks and discussions on the subject of breech births.
One disappointment was that the eminent independent midwife Mary Cronk, who was to have spoken, could not attend, because of illness. But Norwich-based Shawn Walker – a leading specialist midwife in breech births and a colleague of Mary Cronk – had also been scheduled to attend the study day and she ensured that the day’s programme went ahead as planned.
“We were very sorry that Mary could not come,” said co-organiser Theresa Mason. “But Shawn presented some of Mary’s material as well as her own so we benefited from the expertise of them both.”
More events planned
The Huddersfield Midwifery Society has more events planned, including study days in April and May held in conjunction with SANDS, the charity that deals with issues and provides support surrounding still birth and neo-natal death. Speakers will include parents from the locality who will describe how they coped with the loss of their child.
In September 2013, the Royal College of Midwives will collaborate with the Midwifery Society to host a study day dealing with the subject of normal births.
“The RCM currently has a campaign encouraging normal birth, trying to move away from intervention and interceptions,” explained Theresa.
The RCM also provided some support for the inaugural Huddersfield Midwifery Society event and the day opened with an introduction from its representative, Regional Officer for the North of England, Gill Adgie.
The Midwifery Society at the University was the brainchild of Theresa and Lauren, who explained that although it was possible to undergo supplementary training at special events held around the country, the cost of attending these was often prohibitive, and busy student midwives who were on work-placement could not always free up the time.
The answer was to organise study days in Huddersfield itself, so that student midwives could attend them at reduced cost. The new Midwifery Society has attracted a large roster of members, one of the largest at the University of Huddersfield, and there was a waiting list for the first study day.
