Black Maternity Matters is a ground-breaking collaboration, supporting all staff who care for pregnant women and their babies to take action on the inequitable maternal and neonatal outcomes faced by women and babies racialised as Black. We are supporting staff, teams and systems to offer safer, equitable care for all.
As part of phase three, we are offering perinatal colleagues across the West of England the opportunity to join one of four new cohorts starting in February and March 2024 and take part in our unique six-month education and training programme.
We have 20 free spaces on each of the following:
- Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire cohort – open to hospital and community perinatal staff from University Hospitals Bristol and Weston, North Bristol Trust and other BNSSG-related organisations.
- Gloucestershire cohort – open to hospital and community perinatal staff from Gloucestershire Hospitals and other Gloucestershire-based organisations.
- Bath & North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire cohort – open to hospital and community perinatal staff from Royal United Hospitals Bath, Great Western Hospitals and other BSW-related organisations.
- Senior Leaders cohort – this cohort will include but is not limited to chief executives, chief nursing officers, medical directors, heads of midwifery, and integrated care board (ICB) leads across the South West region.
Each cohort offers the opportunity to take part in a six-month journey of anti-racist education and join a community of support and hands-on quality improvement (QI) coaching. You will join the already 80-strong Black Maternity Matters alumni across the West of England, who having completed the course are now making on-the-ground changes in reducing the inequity of outcomes experienced by Black women, families and babies.
We want to invite people at all stages of their careers, whether you are starting out, a manager or consultant, or a chief executive.
This unique self-development opportunity is for everyone who wants to contribute to changing the way we care for Black women and families. This will include examining unconscious biases, and the role of the individual and systems in perpetuating unsafe systems of care for women and babies racialised as Black. Specifically, participants can expect:
- A brave exploration of the Black maternity and neonatal experience through a race lens, for women and their families.
- A commitment to open, honest, and courageous conversations: participants will be encouraged to bring their whole authentic selves.
- A learning and development experience designed to challenge our personal and professional biases.
- To develop an understanding of structural and systemic inequalities and their impact on Black people and their families.
- Inviting participants to get creative and innovative in reimagining maternity and neonatal community practice and their role within that.
- To develop awareness, skills, and tools to start to influence change within maternity and neonatal services.
The aims of the Black Maternity Matters Collaborative includes:
- Educating and empowering maternity and neonatal systems to recognise the impact of the individual and systems on outcomes for Black mothers.
- Increasing knowledge of anti–racist practice within maternity and neonatal systems.
- Increasing QI capacity and capability, specifically targeted at reducing inequality and increasing health equity for Black women and babies.
- Facilitating a QI perinatal equity collaborative.
- Supporting the design and implementation of QI projects aimed at improving outcomes for Black women within maternity and neonatal systems.
- Providing peer support, collaboration and coaching for members.
If you are interested in joining one of our new Black Maternity Matters cohorts, please email jelena.ivanovic@nhs.net for more information and an application form. You will need the approval of your line manager before applying.
Find out more about Black Maternity Matters here and read the evaluation of the first phase of our programme here.
Posted on January 18, 2024
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