MIDIRS Announces Landmark Partnership With The NCT, UK

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 02 Dec 2008 - 4:00 PST

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International maternity charity MIDIRS is delighted to announce a major new collaboration with the UK's leading charity for parents, the NCT, that aims to deliver increased access to evidence-based information for maternity health care professionals and parents.

The announcement follows a period of discussion between the two charities as to how the resources of both organisations could be made available to MIDIRS subscribers and NCT specialist workers and students.

With shared goals and a common ethos, the combined forces of both organisations has created an ideal partnership that aims to further enhance the experience of pregnancy and birth for pregnant women, new mothers and their families.

Sally Marchant, Midwife and Editor of MIDIRS Midwifery Digest said 'The NCT has been an important mainstay in raising issues around, as well as actual provision of, resources for pregnancy and childbirth that are women and family centred. In recent years they have worked hard to expand their services and to make them more accessible to a wider and more diverse population. At the same time, they have maintained a high standard in the education and training programmes offered through their organisation. As editor of the MIDIRS Digest, I am delighted by the possibilities that will arise from this partnership that will doubtless be of benefit to both organisations'.

Mary Newburn, Head of Policy Research with the NCT, further endorsed this statement: 'The NCT is really pleased to be establishing a stronger working relationship with MIDIRS. We share a commitment to providing evidence-based information for midwives and parents, and encouraging continuing professional learning and development of services to meet the needs of mothers, fathers and babies. The NCT has championed user involvement in maternity services and maternity research. We hope that through this partnership and the new NCT publication, Perspective, more midwives will have a chance to find out about the NCT's ethos and that together we can achieve even greater things for families around the time of pregnancy, birth and new parenthood'.

The launch of the new partnership means all 10,000 of MIDIRS subscribers will regularly receive a copy of Perspective: the NCT publication for parent-centred midwifery. This will accompany the quarterly MIDIRS Midwifery Digest, commencing with the issue circulated on 1st December 2008.

Similarly, by 2010, all NCT students and qualified antenatal workers, breastfeeding counsellors and postnatal leaders will benefit from continuous professional development through access to MIDIRS Online Service (OLS), which includes internet access to the MIDIRS reference database and the quarterly MIDIRS Midwifery Digest.

Future plans for the two organisations to work together on developing products for consumers as well as resources for education and training are also being discussed.

This is particularly good news for MIDIRS. Heralded as one of the most reliable information resources within the UK, the Bristol based charity has historically reached the consumer market through its contact with maternity health care professionals. The partnership with the NCT therefore denotes a new phase in the charity's history.

MIDIRS: is a Bristol based not-for-profit organisation offering a complete information service to all health professionals, non-statutory agencies or anyone involved in the care of women and their babies during and after pregnancy. Its organisational mission is 'to be the leading international information resource relating to childbirth and infancy, disseminating this information as widely as possible to assist in the improvement of maternity care'.

MIDIRS Over 32,870 customers worldwide trust MIDIRS services to support their education, practice and professional development. Through a continuing commitment to information access, MIDIRS aims to help health professionals provide mothers and babies with the best possible care.

The NCT - formerly the National Childbirth Trust - is the UK's leading charity on pregnancy, birth and early parenthood. Each year the charity supports thousands of parents through a life-changing experience, offering expert information and trusted practical and emotional support through a network of 300 local branches, helplines, antenatal and early days classes, breastfeeding counselling and peer support schemes.

Recognised by parents for over 50 years, the NCT campaigns continuously for improvements to maternity care and better services for all new parents. We work to make becoming a parent a more positive experience and help parents to be the parent they want to be.

We base our information and support on research evidence and the views of parents. As a result, we are viewed by many as independent experts in matters relating to pregnancy, birth and early parenthood and are an influential and trusted advisor to UK governments, royal colleges, private sector bodies and other charities.

National Childbirth Trust