Bromley Maternity Voices
New Priorities for 2017
NCT Beckenham & Borders Breastfeeding
Counsellor, Hannah Lynes, tells us how she’s doing something new in 2017 - and how you could too.
At the start of 2017, I became Chair of Bromley Maternity Voices (MSLC), a Committee of service users and healthcare professionals working together to improve maternity services in Bromley. I’ve taken over from NCT antenatal teacher, Laura James, who as Chair for the last 3 years has done a fantastic job of generating goodwill and enthusiasm, facilitating change and raising the profile of the Committee.
To start the new year, and to give me a steer in my new role, we held a Development Day on 18th January. The main purpose of the day was to agree priorities for the year ahead. It was also an opportunity to
review the previous year’s progress and to learn about the implications of Better Births, the report of the National Maternity Review. Attendees included mothers, commissioners, senior midwives, a health visitor, doulas and NCT practitioners. We generated ideas and then held a vote through which we agreed the following priorities for 2017:
1) Supporting our local maternity services to become Baby Friendly. The Baby Friendly Initiative is a UNICEF accreditation programme designed to support breastfeeding and parent-infant relationships. Bromley Healthcare has already made significant progress towards this accreditation, and King’s NHS Trust is also aiming to achieve Baby Friendly status.
2) Helping to protect physiological birth by: ensuring that women requesting a caesarian birth on non-medical grounds understand the risks involved and get the support they need to make an informed decision; providing better support for couples at home; and promoting home birth as an option.