At the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, we are lucky enough to have a unique service in the form of Urogynaecology Link Midwife role. This provides additional services to our maternity patients who may be experiencing Urogynaecological issues in the antenatal or postnatal periods. This bridges the gap between Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Our team consists of Midwives, Claire and Wahiba who work closely with Consultant Urogynaecologist Miss Fowler; supported by the wider team of urogynaecology nurse practitioners, consultants and pelvic health physiotherapists, alongside our obstetric colleagues. This enables a strong sense of multidisciplinary working, to ensure our patients receive the best care and outcomes possible.
Currently, our service users are referred via an internal referral on the K2 system by their Midwife or Obstetrician and we provide advice, assessment and follow up on a range of problems, including, but not limited to - urinary incontinence, urinary retention, overactive bladder, constipation, faecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, pelvic floor dysfunction and issues with perineal healing.
We also run a dedicated Perineal clinic alongside Miss Fowler, which specialises in those patients who have experienced a third or fourth degree tear during childbirth.
Third or fourth degree tears, also called Obstetric Anal Sphincter injury (OASI) occur in up to 6% of vaginal births and our service provides invaluable care, support and follow up, to ensure a full and proper recovery along with providing advice on future pregnancies.
We are dynamic in the care we provide as we review patients in a range of settings. We run both telephone and face to face clinics Monday to Friday and in addition to this we support the wards, providing inpatient reviews and plans as necessary.
We work to provide ongoing education and training to ensure staff feel confident in the care they deliver.
Our role will be expanding in the very near future, working more collaboratively with our physiotherapy colleagues in the perinatal pelvic health service, providing early access support for those patients experiencing pelvic health problems, with the ultimate aim to improve long term outcomes for all.