How to benefit babies & influence people; leadership at Queens, Romford
- amymacatonia
- Jun 25, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 26, 2019
Amy Macatonia - Queens Hospital (BHRUT) in Romford.
Insta: @themamaboard
BIOGRAPHY
Amy Macatonia worked as a nurse for 10 years before transitioning to midwifery where she has spent the last 5 years passionately supporting women and now influencing practice. Amy is a mother of a 2 year old son and is very happily expecting another baby in November! I'd like to thank Amy for taking the time to inspire us all with this short blog and credit to Queen's Hospital Maternity Unit for working collaboratively as a team to improve outcomes for mothers and babies.
After Amy had her son, she couldn't believe how many women she met at baby groups who just didn't have enough information about birth or the support they needed. She knew she wanted to be get involved in their antenatal care and provide them good information so they could make informed choices about their birth. As a result Amy now runs antenatal classes called 'The Mama Board' providing; hypnobirthing and relaxation classes, postnatal and breastfeeding support. Bravo Amy!
7 Small Ways to make positive change
Listening to Amanda Burleigh at the MAMA conference in 2016 inspired me. I hardly knew anything about optimal cord clamping or its benefits and I've always wanted to get the message across to my colleagues, just as she had me.
So when I was asked to stay on the labour ward to help promote and support normality… I said "yes please! It's my favourite thing to do!"
Moving from a birth centre to labour ward I noticed some practices, such as immediate cord clamping continued as routine habit. I discussed my thoughts with the labour ward consultant midwife for 'normality' and we decided that bite size teaching sessions would be a good way to inform our colleagues about the latest research and practices.
One significant point here; it is so lovely to have such supportive and encouraging senior midwives who actually want to make a change.
I contacted @bloodtobaby as I’d been following them for a while. I wanted to arm myself to make change, I needed up-to-date research and statistics, and I knew that BloodtoBaby.com was my best shot! I got a lot more than I ever anticipated.
Bloodtobaby sent me such informative and beautiful resources to share with my colleagues, including; handouts and posters for the ward - I even put a few in the toilets!
I was given an empty room (which is very rare at our Trust) for groups of different healthcare professionals to drop in when they were available... midwives, healthcare assistants, anaesthetists, consultant obstetricians and nursery nurses to name a few.
The response and feedback was incredible. Some were not aware of the benefits of optimal cord clamping, especially taking cord gases without cutting the cord. Of course there were, and still are, some barriers - but not many.
Most of my colleagues have jumped on board and started changing their practice. One Midwife said:
“we did it in theatre today; you could see the difference in the babies”
One of our obstetric consultants said she is 'waiting for white' for all of our electives! The positive feedback keeps on coming.
I couldn’t ask for anything more and I’m sure our families, especially the babies, can’t either.
If you're inspired to develop a local teaching session, please visit our online store to order resources and materials free of charge. Please get in touch with Hannah at bloodtobaby@gmail.com
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Isn't it amazing when education leads to change? It is! I saw immediate shifts in practice after a workshop on baby's first bath; seeing those lightbulb moments was so rewarding. What about you? Happy Pacman 30th Anniversary to all the retro gamers!
This is such an inspiring story! It's amazing how those small, consistent efforts can truly shift a culture. Introducing bite-sized teaching sessions sounds like a brilliant way to address ingrained habits like immediate cord clamping. Sometimes, getting past established routines feels like trying to break through a wall, but with persistence and the right approach - being a real Block Breaker - positive changes become possible. Huge respect to you and your supportive colleagues for prioritizing normality!
That’s such a wonderful initiative! When I started a new role, we also had a shared space for informal learning, and it made a huge difference in breaking down barriers between specialities. Genuine conversations foster so much mutual respect and learning. If you’re ever looking for a fun icebreaker for your next group session, I recommend trying out something lighthearted like a round of Monkey Mart—it helped my team bond quickly!
That's so inspiring, Amy! It's wonderful to see a midwife using her own experience to empower other women. I completely agree that informed choices are crucial during pregnancy and childbirth. It's amazing you're offering such comprehensive support. I bet expecting parents in Romford are really grateful. My niece is expecting, and she's finding it hard to relax; I think she'd like that! Perhaps she needs a little light-hearted distraction too – she’s been unwinding playing Crazy Cattle 3D on her phone.