Working with local organisations to improve antenatal and maternity health
Our antenatal maternity and services are keen to build an open dialogue with women and birthing people that use those services in south east London, so we continue to improve and respond to people’s needs.
We recognise that not all pregnant and postnatal women and birthing people have the access to services that they should or are able to contribute to building services that are based around them.
We partnered with five voluntary sector organisations to support our efforts to reach maternity communities across south east London and work with them to better understand what challenges they face and how we can make services accessible for everyone.
The projects involved direct work with people from the following groups: Migrant, Asylum seekers, Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minority groups, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+), and those living in the most deprived areas of SEL, those with experience of south east London neonatal services, disability or a new-born with a disability, experience of miscarriage, pregnancy loss or termination of pregnancy due to fetal abnormality.
Over the last 12 months the five organisations have been working directly with specific communities through a variety of methods. They have been listening and collating feedback from those communities to help us understand and deliver actions moving forward to support the development and improvement of South East London maternity and neonatal services.
On Monday 25 March, aiming to showcase and share insights in an innovative way about the work of five voluntary sector organisations. Watch the video from the show case event for more information about the event and the impact of this project in our antenatal and maternity health work.
Some of the findings include:
- The experiences of migrant and asylum-seeking women and birthing people of maternity and neonatal services is often marked by variations in care and barriers to access.
- Migrant and asylum-seeking women and birthing people encountered challenges with language and communication and had limited understanding of the healthcare system.
- There was in inconsistent access to antenatal and postnatal care, and a general lack of culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate services.
- The absence of family support for migrants greatly impacts their wellbeing leaving them without reassurance, companionship, or practical assistance during a critical time.
- Financial constraints and lack of awareness about available resources, can leading to immense isolation in the postnatal period.
Read more on our South East London Integrated Care System website
Creating Ground C.I.C, Healthwatch Greenwich and Healthwatch Lambeth projects delivery are finished and you care read more about outcomes of their work and insights reports from the communities that they are working with.
Healthwatch Greenwich - report |  |
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| Healthwatch Lambeth - report |  |
Yewande 103 and the East of England LGA insights will be published here soon.
The projects aimed:
- Building on previous engagement and intelligence data we have about the inequalities experienced to ensure that we are reaching those communities
- Creating and share adapted information about maternity and neonatal services and how people can access the services
- Listening and collate feedback from those communities to help us understand and deliver actions moving forward to support the development and improvement of South East London maternity and neonatal services.
- Developing, building, and strengthening relationships with communities experiencing health inequalities so that we can find the best ways to engage that enable us to develop and continue conversations
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Learning from the voices of women and birthing people to improve antenatal and maternity health - show case event
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On Monday 25 March, the South East London Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS) organised a show case event bringing together people with lived experience, maternity service staff, Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnerships, NHS leaders and voluntary and community sector organisations.
The event aimed to showcase and share insights in an innovative way about the work of five voluntary sector organisations that the LMNS partnered with over the last year. They reached underrepresented maternity communities across south east London and worked with them to better understand the challenges they face and how services can be more accessible for everyone.
The event was a great opportunity for people involved in the projects to give feedback in a safe environment through the use of art, poetry and theatre. Participants where able to talk openly and honestly about challenges as well as possible solutions from their experience in using maternity services across south east London.
The session included presentations and performances and highlighted the voices of women and birthing people involved, the key issues and insights identified from the work. Over 55 participants attended, and it was a great opportunity for networking and future collaboration and partnerships.
The five organisations involved in the delivery of the project are Yewande 103, Creating Ground C.I.C, Healthwatch Greenwich, Healthwatch Lambeth, East of England LGA. Through a variety of methods, they have been listening and collating feedback from specific under-served communities such as: migrants, asylum seekers, Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minority groups, those who have experience of miscarriage, pregnancy loss or termination of pregnancy due to foetal abnormality, LGBTQ+ and neurodiversity.
“The more that you are developing those trusting relationships with people, the more we can adapt services and create that trusting supportive network for people so they do feedback more and they are getting the support that they need.” - Rachel Heathcock, Project Manager, East of England Local Government Association
The insights will help us understand and deliver actions moving forward to support the development and improvement of South East London maternity and neonatal services.
A key outcome of this pioneering programme is the direct engagement of women, birthing people and families to talk about their needs, experiences and expectations and put these findings at the centre of a new and more responsive approach.
Jacqui Kempen RM, Head of Maternity, South East London Local Maternity and Neonatal System talked about the value of this approach “We know that not all women and birthing people in SEL have the same experience and outcomes when they use maternity services. It is a priority for the LMNS and the NHS South East London that we listen and work with those communities to make the improvements needed to ensure that all have safe and equitable care”.
