International Day of the Midwife Twitter GraphicEmail of thanks to all midwifery staff 
Karen Poole, Programme Director for the LMS sent an email of thanks to Heads of Midwifery to be shared with all staff. This was to personally thank all our midwives, maternity support workers and student midwives, and to wish them a very happy International Day of the Midwife. Karen’s email also acknowledged how challenging the past year had been for the maternity workforce and to reiterate how much they are all valued.  

A blog  
A blog from Sarah Bennett, Senior Midwife for the LMS featured in the Partnership’s weekly bulletin that is shared with all colleagues, partners, and local networks. Sarah noted that in over a year that had been busier and more stretched than ever, data showed progress in outcomes across West Yorkshire with for example still births at their lowest rate since 2016. You can read the full blog in the weekly bulletin here, just scroll down the page.

We Work Together - International Day of the Midwife 2021 podcast
A podcast on the theme for 2021 ‘Follow the data: invest in midwives’ was recorded especially for the occasion. The podcast and features Continuity of Carer Midwives; Beth from Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, Abbie from Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Jo from Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. It also features Sarah Bennett, Senior Midwife (LMS) and Duncan Cooper, Data Analyst (LMS). The theme for International Day of the Midwife 2021 was very apt as our data and evidence are so important in helping us to make informed decisions as a maternity system.

International Day of the Midwife Twitter GraphicTwitter activity
Our Twitter platform @WYpartnership celebrated the incredible work midwives and maternity staff provided during the pandemic in West Yorkshire and beyond with our 5,800 followers using the hashtag #IDM2021. We also shared some of the great work and outcomes achieved, such as these highlighted in this case study, ‘Recognising and celebrating success with the LMS workforce’.

Social media graphics
A communications toolkit, which included social media graphics, was made available for use by all our hospital trusts to help raise awareness of our amazing maternity workforce.