Posted on: 6 October 2020
Women living in West Yorkshire and Harrogate can now use a new digital tool, My Pregnancy Journey, to help them make choices about their care in pregnancy, in labour and following the birth of their baby.
Better Births (2016) provides the blueprint for maternity transformation, which is driven locally by the Local Maternity System (LMS). Our LMS is transforming maternity services so that every woman can access information to enable her to make decisions about her care, and where she and her baby can find support that is centred around their individual needs.
Choices available to all women include the place of birth and choice begins as soon as a woman makes initial contact with maternity services and continues throughout her journey. In 2018, our LMS co-produced with women and families a booklet entitled My Journey, outlining the choices available to women at that time. We have now updated and re-created that booklet into a digital tool, My Pregnancy Journey, that can be accessed on a variety of platforms, such as laptops, tablets or smartphones.
Carol McKenna, CEO Lead for West Yorkshire and Harrogate Maternity Programme and Chief Officer for NHS Greater Huddersfield CCG and NHS North Kirklees CCG said:
“There is no better time than now for our Local Maternity System to bring this innovation to women living in West Yorkshire and Harrogate. We know that people need to be able to find the information they need quickly and easily, and for many of us that means using a handheld device or a computer.
The My Pregnancy Journey tool is easy to use, offers a function that allows women to find out about services close to and convenient for them and is available round the clock. We believe that this flexibility is at the heart of personalised care and hope that women and families will use it to help them get the right care for them in the right place at the right time.”
