BJM win for St George’s Midwife
Congratulations to Debs Livermore on winning first prize in the ‘Innovation in practice’ category at the British Journal of Midwifery awards earlier this month.
Debs was short-listed for her work in developing the High Dependency Unit on our Delivery Suite at St George’s.
Before the current unit was established, many more women were being admitted to Intensive Care and being separated from their baby. Debs has provided support to midwives and devised teaching sessions to increase midwifery confidence in the care of critically ill women, which has enabled mothers and baby to remain together in the Obstetric HDU.
She also devised and taught a Midwifery Care Plan for women who deliver using the Triple P procedure, which is now an internationally recognised surgical option for women with abnormal invasion of placenta.
The Care Plan meets not only their clinical needs, but ensures they are given the psychological support required by women who have undergone such a potentially dangerous operation and all the normal postnatal, feeding and baby care they need.
Commenting on her win, Debs told us: “I was delighted to get the nomination. It will hopefully highlight how the complexity of our women has increased and how, as a group of midwives, we are rising to this challenge.”
“Women with complex medical needs want to be cared for in the same way and to have the same birth experience as low risk women, and it was nice to be recognised for the hard work that I’ve put in. Our aim as midwives is to endeavour to keep mum and baby together.”
