Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity) Conference
Dunsilly Hotel, Antrim, 15th June 2023
Caring Matters Now attended the RCM and SANDS Conference in June 2023. We were able to speak to many midwives and share our Medical Booklet with them, some of whom shared with us that they had a friend or family member with CMN. We met one midwife who had delivered a baby just that week with CMN and she took a Medical Booklet to post to the family.
We had the opportunity to network with several different organisations. We discussed support provisions for members, Dads, and siblings. It was interesting to hear the support that the other organisations provide and refreshing to share a similar vision and challenges.
Whilst we were there, we had the opportunity to listen to a presentation on‘Providing best care for ethnic minority groups.’ The speaker was a bereavement midwife who shared statistics, skills-based research and resources which will continue to inform our Ethnicity Equality Diversity and Inclusion Focus Group!
The overall focus for the day was ‘Uncertainty and Loss within Maternity and Neonatal Care.’ Some members have expressed to us a feeling of loss when their baby is born with CMN. We often hear from our members they are impacted by the initial comments made by medical professionals, both positive and negative. As a midwife is usually the first medical professional parents of a baby born with CMN encounter, Caring Matters Now realise the importance of attending their conference as it gives us the opportunity to raise awareness of the rare condition of CMN and to educate them about it.
The day was a great success in terms of education and sharing resources but also in being able to network with others which in turn, helps to inform the development of our work at Caring Matters Now.
