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Caption: Have a stretch... and get on the bus!
Join #MatExpOnTour!
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Caption: Don't be sheepish...
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Caption: What?
Who?
Where we going? π
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Caption: #MatExp (Twitter hashtag) is an amazing change platform enabling people to come together to improve maternity services
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Caption: It is wild and wacky and wonderful. πππ₯π
Because people just do stuff.
Without asking permission.
They JFDI. ππ»π
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Caption: So on 1 November Helen @heartmummy announced that we were going on tour. π As you do.
So we have all been sharing where we are and what we are up to. ππ»
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Caption: Helen @heartmummy is on the right. She and Emma are adding some artwork to the balloons we nicked from the national maternity review.
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Caption: For example, last week I ran a #MatExp Whose Shoes workshop in Durham. People interested in maternity services came together from across the north of England. It was a taster session but we got some good conversations going
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Caption: As a cricket fan, I was very excited by the venue. Durham County Cricket club! It was a good job it was November otherwise I might have been distractedβ¦
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Caption: And Caroline Brown recorded some of the key issues
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Caption: But the emphasis is always on helping people think through what they can actually DO about it and forming collaborative networks
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Caption: And this week I went to the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Annual Conference. And that is what I really want to tell you about.
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Caption: This was the first RCM conference
I have ever attended and I was really impressed by the passion, commitment and friendship.
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Caption: I had to get there early as I was exhibiting at the event. I had been invited by NHS England to showcase the maternity version of Whose Shoes? on their stand ππ» How good is thatπ?
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Caption: I rocked up with my pal Jenny, who is one of the most passionate midwives you could ever meet.
And of course I was wearing my #MatExp necklace that #FabObs Flo gave me.
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Caption: It was all hands on deck to set up the stand.
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Caption: Sadly the bunting had to to be taken down as it was in danger of melting π±. Whose Shoes? aims to start some fires by spreading good practice across the country β not literally
π₯π₯π₯βΌοΈ #eek π
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Caption: But it added a bit of colour to
the display.
As did the #MatExp stickers π
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Caption: On our stand we also showcased the important work being done with mums with learning disabilities. Catherine (on the left) led the way.
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Caption: And the 6Cs! Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage and Commitment!
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Caption: And cake! Who said thatβοΈ
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Caption: Another really popular resource was Jenny's fab skin to skin poster.
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Caption: We were so busy on the stand that I didn't even get a chance to go and see Jenny do her fabulous #SkintoSkin rap. Luckily she had given me a preview the night before ππ½
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Caption: In fact I hardly saw anything of the conference itself, although I was generously invited to. It was just too busy on the stand! π³
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Caption: It was great to see so many of my Twitter pals - and get the chance to show Whose Shoes? to people who hadn't seen it before.
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Caption: And tell them about the Whose Shoes? workshops we have held in London⦠and beyond!
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Caption: Our stand was strategically placed.
Near the food π
And we had loads of interest.
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Caption: Ann is interested in introducing #MatExp #WhoseShoes to the Southwest region.
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Caption: And Karen and Norma are hoping it can contribute to their work in Worcester
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Caption: This is Bal who came to the very first Whose Shoes? maternity workshop - the brainchild of #FabObs Flo aka Florence Wilcock - at Kingston Hospital.
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Caption: I was pleased to get the chance to congratulate Bal on the wonderful graffiti board she has introduced (personal pledge at the Kingston workshop) for parents to give feedback β and have a bit of fun too! ππΆπΌπ
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Caption: Fab midwives from Kingston Hospital!
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Caption: I always love chatting to students, feeling their curiosity, passion for learning ... and fresh eyes!
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Caption: And it was particularly good to catch up with other people who have hosted Whose Shoes? workshops.
This is Hazel from Guernsey!
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Caption: Hazel said that the work with #MatExp WhoseShoes? in Guernsey - and all the action that has resulted from it β has impressed the inspectors!
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Caption: I wrote a Steller story about my fab trip to Guernsey.
But that is another story. π
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Caption: And through Twitter networks such as #MatExp we can bring fabulous people together and build the community for positive change. Was thrilled to see this photo of Hazel and Jenny!
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Caption: And as I looked round the RCM exhibition I was delighted to find the Pinter and Martin stand β with loads of copies of Roar Behind the Silence, 'our book'! Sheena Byrom had kindly invited me to write a chapter about the Whose Shoes? concept and it was exciting to see people reading it.
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Caption: Here we are ROARing! π
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Caption: I was also delighted to spot Hannah Tizard's fab poster promoting optimal cord clamping. Hannah is a wonderful student midwife
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Caption: So it felt very appropriate that I found a gang of student midwives having their lunch next to the poster and was able to tell them the story π
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Caption: There was a fantastic climate of learning and sharing
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Caption: Including a #MatExp cake! π°π°π° Thank you Sally! π
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Caption: I finally met Anna Byrom,
Editor of Practising Midwife.
Look forward to writing for this publication and encouraging other #MatExp contributors!
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Caption: It was lovely to see people connecting - old friends and new
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Caption: And soon it was time to go with bags and bags of learning
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Caption: So it was the end of the day.
But only a step along the way for #MatExp. π£π£
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Caption: #MatExp is fun Join us!