Charity Teddy's Wish to fund MAMA Wellbeing Wallets

MAMA Academy is thrilled to announce our latest partnership with charity, Teddy's Wish.

On a mission to reduce baby loss and promote safer pregnancies, Teddy's Wish will generously fund 7,000 Wellbeing Wallets for Chelsea and Westminster hospital, 6,000 for Homerton AND 6,000 for South Tees NHS Trusts.

The most recent Lancet series reported that the UK is making shockingly slow progress in reducing stillbirths due to a culture of 'fatalism, taboo and stigma'. A recent national audit by MBRRACE of term stillbirths identified that an inadequate response to a history of reduced fetal movements contributed to almost 25% of stillbirths. In 2015, the stillbirth priority setting partnership asked “Would empowering women to know about relevant evidence-based signs and symptoms and raise them with healthcare professionals reduce stillbirth?”

To address this key question MAMA Academy, has provided expectant mothers with a novel educational tool to assist them in discussing key safer pregnancy messages with midwives and seek help earlier as part of a national stillbirth reduction strategy. MAMA Wellbeing Wallets are durable PVC zip-lock pouches designed to protect mother’s antenatal notes. They are printed front and back with colourful, easy to read health messages that are in line with Sands and DH safer pregnancy messaging and complements the work of NHS England's Saving Babies Lives care bundle for the reduction of stillbirths and early neonatal deaths. The main maternity phone number can be written on the wallet giving mothers permission to call if they notice any problematic symptoms.

So far, midwives in 22 trusts nationwide give the wallets to expectant mothers at their booking in appointment. They discuss the topics on the wallet which include smoking, foods to avoid, signs of infection, signs of preeclampsia, ICP, when to call the maternity unit without delay and how to monitor babies movements.

Four months after initial distribution, staff feedback received from nine trusts included midwives were using the wallet as a checklist, as well as a way to inform mothers of local classes such as Pilates and breastfeeding. They also said that mothers were bringing the wallet to future appointments and more discussions were taking place between midwives and mothers on smoking, foods to avoid, babies movements and signs of labour. One trust told us that mothers were more confident in knowing when to call for advice and that the introduction of wallets had not led to an increase in admissions. Another trust reported a baby was born by emergency c-section due to pathological CTG after the wallet prompted the mother to report reduced movements.

The London Maternity Strategic Clinical Network plans an audit of 5 pilot trusts to determine the impact of the wallets on maternal self- referral to day assessment units, particularly in response to a reduction in fetal movements. This will help establish whether this simple, cheap educational tool has the potential to improve access to maternity units and in the longer term reduce stillbirth rates.

Teddy's Wish will fund the wallets for one of these pilot trusts – Chelsea and Westminster who will start distributing the wallets from June 2016.

Teddy's Wish was set up in August 2014 to honour the memory of Edward Louis Reid who died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) four months earlier. Funds raised support potentially life-saving research into SIDS, neonatal death and still birth and helps provide support services for bereaved families.

More information can be found at www.teddyswish.org