Wakefield District Maternity & Neonatal Voices Partnership

05/05/2026

Celebrating the wonderful midwives at Pinderfields, Dewsbury and Pontefract today - love these awards from the hospital trust!

If you have any shout outs to midwives today (and any day!) please feel free to share them with us, we’d love to hear them and pass them on 💛

27/04/2026

Today we were at the gorgeous Brontë birth centre located at Dewsbury hospital to brainstorm and talk about the new «Philosophy of care» that the birth centres at MYTT are bringing to life. It was so lovely to see some service users there and we had really good and open conversations about what the birth centres stand for and how to best present this in one «philosophy of care» 💜 If you are interested in the birth centres you are always welcome to contact them for a chat - they are such welcoming spaces and would love to connect. We will also be asking some questions on our page soon regarding this so please get involved if you have any thoughts about the birth centres - whether you’ve birthed there previously, plan to birth there, want to birth there or are just simply interested 🥰 Stay tuned!

21/04/2026

🖤 This week is Black Maternal Health Awareness Week 🖤

A Black Maternity Experiences survey from 2025 shows there are still barriers and that the system needs to do better.

Some key findings were:

❤️ 60% of Black women rated their antenatal care as good or high quality.

🚫 54% experienced challenges with healthcare professionals.

❤️‍🩹 28% of Black women reported discrimination and, of these, 25% said that this was due to issues around race.

❗️45% raised concerns during labour or birth; 49% of these felt their concerns were not properly addressed.

💊 23% of Black women did not receive the pain relief they requested, and 40% of these women were given no explanation.

🍎 Only 39% received advice on nutrition, and just 27% were spoken to about exercise at their booking appointment.

❗️ Only 1 in 5 women had been informed on how to make a complaint, and only 8% pursued a formal process.

We need to raise awareness - please take part this week in any way you can 🖤 if you want to share feedback directly with us please drop us a message!

20/04/2026

If you have any experience of our birth centres (either Pinderfields Birth Centre, or Bronte Birth Centre in Dewsbury) we'd love it if you came along to our event at Bronte Birth Centre next Monday. Whether you're planning a birth centre birth, have had a birth centre birth, or even planned a birth centre birth even if you ended up having your baby/babies elsewhere - we'd love to hear from you.

We want to make sure the care available at both of these birth centres fits with what women, birthing people and their families are hoping for - and so together we want to create a 'philosophy of care'.

Please feel free to drop in at Bronte birth centre next week, between 10am and 12pm. We can reimburse your travel expenses, make you a brew and we'll even push the boat out and bring biscuits!

If you have any questions please let me know - drop us a message if you think you might join us 💜

20/04/2026

Our next Q&A with Amy is set to take place on Thursday (23 April), from 3pm to 4pm, and it’s a great opportunity to post your questions directly on our page for Amy, our very knowledgeable midwife, to answer!

Whether you’re pregnant now, planning for the future, or supporting someone who is, we’d love to hear from you. Just visit our page on the day and add your question in the comments box.

16/04/2026

Have you given birth in the past year? 👀

The University of Glasgow is conducting a research to better understand post-partum mental health and wellbeing.

They are looking for women and birthing people (18+yrs) who have had a baby in the past year to take part in a short (15-20 mins) confidential survey.

• The survey will ask about your emotions, stresses, and birth experiences.
• You can withdraw at any time, and a support sheet will be available to access if you need further help.
• If you agree, you will be entered into a prize draw for 5 x £50 shopping vouchers.

To learn more please visit: tinyurl.com/WellPostPart

Or you can email the researcher Dr Karen Wetherall: karen.wetherall@glasgow.ac.uk

08/04/2026

📣Calling out for anyone who has had, or been offered, an induction in the last 5 years 🫶🏼

01/04/2026

We are creating a new Philosophy of Care for our birth centres (Bronte Birth Centre and Pinderfields Birth Centre) and we want it to reflect what matters most to you.

A Philosophy of Care is a simple statement that sets out the values, beliefs and priorities that guide how care is provided in the birth centre. It describes what we stand for and how we want families to feel when they use our services.

We’re developing this together with Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership, and your insight will help shape a philosophy that reflects the experiences and needs of the families we care for.

📣 Whether you are pregnant, have recently had a baby, or are supporting someone who has, we would love to hear your thoughts.

📅Join us on 27 April, 10am–12pm, at Bronte Birth Centre to share your views and help create our Philosophy of Care together.

27/03/2026

05/02/2026

This year marks five years of Full Term Awareness Month, created by Bliss 💙

I had a baby born full term who needed neonatal care, and I know how hard that experience can be to navigate. Having a baby who needs neonatal care isn’t always something people expect, and it can be hard to share that journey with those who haven’t been through it.

There’s a common misconception that neonatal care is only for premature babies — but 60% of babies needing neonatal care are born full term and unwell.

This month is about raising awareness, building understanding, and reminding families they’re not alone 🤍
We’d also love to hear your stories of babies born full term who needed neonatal care - please reach out if you want a chat.

Jenny Madley, Neonatal Lead 💙

21/01/2026