Marching on into May

Last Thursday (26 April) we hosted one of our regular 'Medicine for Members' events on the subject of managing pain in labour.  We know that labour is something women worry about whilst they are pregnant, particularly how they will cope with the pain it brings.
 
Our midwives explained what could be done to help during labour, from relaxation and aromatherapy through to using water (bath or birthing pool), gas and air, and epidural.  They stressed that every woman is different and every labour is different and encouraged women to keep an open mind about what they might want.  And our midwives emphasised that women should not underestimate their ability to manage labour - women are generally amazing!
 
Every woman will be cared for by a midwife throughout her labour and we would encourage all pregnant women to talk to their midwife about labour and pain management during the earlier stages of their pregnancy.
 
Our next Medicine for Members event will be on Thursday 19 July 2012 at 1800 on the subject of infertility. 
 
Interested in joining us as a member?  I do hope so as it's your chance to keep in touch with everything that's happening at The Women's.  You can click here to join.
 
It was the first day of May yesterday which means that somehow we're already a third of the way through 2012! I think the main reason why the last four months seem to have flown by so quickly is that so many exciting things have been happening within the Trust. I'm happy to report that May promises to be no different.
 
Next Saturday, 5th May, marks International Day of the Midwife; a day when people all over the world pay tribute to the fantastic work that midwives do every time they put their uniform on. I wrote a blog a few weeks ago about how the role of the midwife had changed over time; one thing that has never changed is how invaluable their dedication and skill is to the health of women and their babies all over the world. I've spoken regularly of the many reasons why I'm proud of Liverpool Women's - our midwifery department is certainly one of them.
 
The 5th also signifies Global Hand-Washing Day, when we highlight the importance of hand hygiene across the world. As a Trust which prides itself on the level of care and safety afforded to the people who come to us for help, the importance of hand hygiene is something we'd be foolish to underestimate. We follow the guidelines around infection prevention and control very carefully and this is reflected by the encouragement we give to everyone who steps foot in our buildings to clean their hands. With that in mind, Global Hand-Washing Day certainly gets our backing.
 
A week later, on the 12th May, we celebrate the International Day of the Nurse. The 12th May is a special day in the history of nursing as it is the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birthday and I for one can't think of a better day on which to pay special thought to the amazing efforts and achievements of nurses around the world - especially those working at this Trust.
 
As International Day of the Nurse ends, Adult Learners' Week begins. This is a week dedicated to encouraging adults to discover the positive impact that learning can have on their lives, their families and their community. The Trust will be holding our own special celebration ceremony to acknowledge the achievements of our staff who have successfully gained new qualifications over the past year as well as those who've won the Employee and Volunteer of the Month Awards throughout 2011/12. This promises to be another one of those inspirational events we seem to enjoy with pleasant regularity here at Liverpool Women's.