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Staff reflect on the experience of giving birth in theatres

 
A wide range of Maternity staff, including midwives, anaesthetists, obstetricians and theatre nurses got together on 9th May to discuss childbirth in theatres from a mother’s point of view.
 
The session was part of New Beginnings – a quality improvement project that brings mothers and Trust staff together to make positive changes to having a baby in an operating theatre. It’s funded by the Health Innovation Network.
 
Staff had previously been filmed talking about being part of birth in theatre, and at the event they got to watch and discuss films involving 5 themes: joy, perspectives, familiarity, collaboration, and process.
 
Staff reflections on their own experiences included a desire to work more closely together and to become more patient focussed and their reflections on mothers’ experiences included how the noise and array of instruments can be frightening, how a cluttered environment doesn’t live up to their expectations, and how the traffic and voices of different theatre staff can be confusing.
 
Emma Evans, Consultant Obstetric Anaesthetist and lead for the project, said: “Sessions like these are vital for us to work out how to make a better experience for mums. We’re also interviewing mothers themselves, and will spend a session in the coming months watching the themed films that come from their interviews.
 
“The aim is to co-design the improvements with them, so that the changes we make really make a difference.”
 
Watch a short video of Emma explaining more about the project