Awards

Royal College of Midwives Award 2006

Category: Turning Vision into Reality
Winners: The Horton Maternity Hospital Midwives with Anne Haines and Linda Kimber

The Horton Maternity Unit Banbury, Oxfordshire has been recognised for supporting women and their birth partners to have a positive birth experience.

"We are so delighted to have been recognised by our Professional Body; a lot of commitment and hard work is involved when making changes in a consultant unit."

On the 27th November 2006 the certificate and plaque were presented to Anne Haines (Associate Midwifery Manager) and Linda Kimber (Research Midwife and Massage Therapist) by the Princess Royal, Princess Anne. Photo copyright © RCM.

Part of their work to normalise childbirth included a pilot Randomised Controlled Trial conducted in 2005/6 using the LK Massage Programme as a non-pharmacological coping strategy for labour pain.

This involved:

Creating a calm and restful environment to encourage normal physiological labour and childbirth
The promotion of skin to skin contact between mother and baby immediately following birth

Nursing Times Midwifery Services Award 2005

Developing the culture that supports the process of natural birth.
Winners: The Horton Maternity Hospital Midwives with Anne Haines and Linda Kimber

This is a brand new category for 2005 and attracted many entries across a huge diversity of subjects connected with the antenatal, perinatal and postnatal care of mothers and babies.

The winners were Anne Haines, Associate Midwifery Manager and Linda Kimber, Midwife and Massage Therapist, from the Horton Maternity Unit Banbury in Oxfordshire, for a wide - ranging project supporting the process of natural birth.

Alongside the introduction of a therapeutic massage programme for women in labour, the team has introduced a range of initiatives to support and promote natural birth. These include encouraging non pharmacological pain relief; creating a comfortable and private labour suite environment; using non verbal communication; promoting mobility during labour; and encouraging skin-to-skin infant - maternal contact for a minimum of 60 minutes following birth.

The judges said the project had effected true cultural transformation. "It has turned the organisational culture on its head." the panel said.

Royal College of Midwives Award 2004

Category: Innovations in Midwifery
Runner Up: Anne Haines, Delivery Suite Manager, and Linda Kimber Midwife/Massage Therapist
The Horton Maternity Hospital Midwives - Horton Maternity Unit Banbury - Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust.

The LK Massage Programme: development and integration into a consultant unit. Since the mid 1990's, the programme has been developed with the use of back and limb massage, breathing and visualization to use in late pregnancy and childbirth. Integrating this model of care into a busy consultant unit took time and patience. It was a conscious decision to bring it to a consultant unit to benefit women with both normal and complex pregnancies.

A research project looked at the value of massage in reducing pharmacological pain relief needed. The trends were encouraging and qualitative data was received from couples and midwives to inform future practice. A course to prepare midwives to support the couples using the programme was accredited by the RCM this year and a randomized controlled trial is underway.