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Parent education workshops available for Oxfordshire families

12/11/2024
Parents-to-be can now attend free virtual education workshops provided by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. 

The interactive online sessions, delivered by Parent Education Midwives, offer useful information about preparing for birth and the early days of parenting, helping families to make informed decisions about labour and birth, and to feel more prepared in caring for and feeding their baby. Information about the parents' own health and wellbeing is also provided.

Courses are booked via the OUH Maternity Team Eventbrite page. All workshops are recommended for a first-time parent, and workshops can be booked together or separately. For those who have given birth before, there is the option to book the workshops that they may find beneficial.

Four workshops are available, covering labour and birth, post birth, and feeding. A range of bespoke sessions on specific topics are also available, such as 'Place of birth – where can I have my baby?', 'Birth After Caesarean', and 'Induction of labour - what to expect'.

It is recommended to book on the sessions between week 28 and 34 of pregnancy. There are two available formats for workshops; you can either book a full day workshop plus a two-hour workshop on feeding, or book the four two-hour evening workshops. Both formats cover the same content, so people are free to pick whichever option works best for them.

Sophie McAllister, a Consultant Midwife at OUH, said: "We are pleased to provide these classes for the families in our care, with midwives who work clinically who can share their wide range of knowledge.

“We’ve received some really positive feedback so far and are committed to improving and developing our workshops based on what our patients have to say."

To address local health inequities and language barriers, the EDI Midwives team partnered with the Equal Start Oxford Project to provide extra sessions for Tetum and English-speaking women new to the UK. These sessions help them navigate the healthcare system, and offer guidance on pregnancy, childbirth, and newborn care in an accessible as possible way. 

The Parent Education team is always looking for innovative ways to meet the needs of the women and families in Oxfordshire, and they recently piloted a session in Portuguese.

Each session is evaluated by attendees, and feedback is regularly reviewed and contributes to continuously improving the sessions. 

Following a recent survey, all attendees reported feeling informed after the workshops, with more than three quarters feeling extremely well-informed. 

Positive feedback from the survey highlighted knowledgeable teachers and useful resources.  In response to 'How likely are you to recommend this event to a friend or colleague?', the average score was 8.5 out of 10. 

The project is led by Consultant Midwife Sophie McAllister, with support from Community Matron Wendy Hill and Public Health Matron Amanda Lee. The course content was developed by the parent education midwives in conjunction with partners such as Oxfordshire Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (OMNVP), and the OUH Infant Feeding team. 

Three clinical midwives at OUH, Grania Foster, Emma Rhodes, and Camila Alves, are the parent education midwives who provide the core workshops. 

Camila said: "I believe informed choice is empowering, and by sharing honest, evidence-based information, together we can find what is right for each family to achieve a positive birth experience. 

"I know from experience how hard it can be to navigate pregnancy in a foreign country, especially with limited knowledge of English. This demographic finds it harder to engage to maternity services and were not signing up for lessons. To make the workshop more accessible, we piloted virtual lessons in Portuguese, including extra topics like, expected antenatal appointments, scans, vaginal birth after caesarean, and a general?Q&A."

Milica Redfearn, Director of Midwifery at OUH, said: "We appreciate the remarkable dedication and effort demonstrated by our Parent Education team in developing and delivering these informative, welcoming, and inclusive virtual workshops for women and their families in Oxford. It is great to see the positive impact they are having."
 

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