Research - Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust

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Maternity Research

Welcome to the Midwifery Research Department at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust! The Midwifery Research Team at Liverpool Women’s Hospital was the first of its kind when Professor Tina Lavender and the Former Obstetric Directorate Manager Julie Riley founded it in 1997. Together, they pioneered a unique approach to undertaking midwifery research by funding clinical midwives to research secondments and developing a capability building model which has meant the department has gone from strength to strength. Since then, the majority of team members are clinically based midwives and the majority of research projects are now externally funded.

Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust Tina Lavender is the Academic Lead and Lisa Baker, the Midwifery Research Co-ordinator.

The main asset of the department has been the commitment, innovation and enthusiasm of the team both past and present. The activities of the team encompass education, research and clinical practice, which have resulted in demonstrable improvements in the maternity care services provided to women locally, nationally and internationally.

Ethos

The ethos of the Midwifery Research Department is to promote evidence-based woman centred care by embarking on ‘real world research’, which stems from practice and experience and feeds back into practice. We value the insight that is gained from listening to women about their views, feelings and experiences of maternity related issues. This holistic philosophy underpins our entire approach to research and practice.

Aims of Department

To undertake programmes of midwifery research that explore maternal expectations, experiences and outcomes within maternity care services
Inform future service provision for Women's Services
To contribute to changing midwifery practice
Increase the research capability of midwives
To reflect the Public Health Agenda

Research Programs at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust

For the full programs of all research, please see the Research & Development section of the website.

Midwifery Research Program

The research theme “Optimising normal birth”, led by the midwifery team is one of 5 themes within the Trust Integrated Research Strategy. The theme is divided into 3 streams with Dr. Tina Lavender being the overall program lead.

Stream 1: Normal Labour Parameters
Dr. Tina Lavender
Professor of Midwifery & Women’s Health
University of Central Lancashire.
www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/health/midwifery/research/index.htm

Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust Stream 2: Childbirth Choices, Experiences and Outcomes
Lisa Baker
Midwifery Research Co-ordinator
Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

Stream 3: Promoting Health and Equality
Dr. Grace Edwards
Consultant Midwife - Liverpool Women’s Hospital
Principle Lecturer - University of Central Lancashire

This research theme replaces the existing NHS R&D Priorities & Needs Programme Involving Maternity Service Users/Improving the Health of the Public, which has been rated strongly by the DOH since its conception in 2000.

Consumer Input

We have good collaboration with consumers and wherever possible, they are involved at various stages of the midwifery research process.

Women have changed the primary outcome of one of our studies
Consumers are involved as steering group members on various research projects
Teenagers assisting with focus groups for a text messaging project

Departmental Structure

1 Midwife Research Co-ordinator
1 Research Fellow
3 Research Midwives (capability building)
5 Masters Students
2 Masters in Philosophy Students
3 Trial Co-ordinators
2 Research Assistants

Input to Midwifery Practice:

The midwifery research team regularly feeds into practice via the following means:

Input into clinical guidelines
Supplying of evidence to be applied directly to practice
Assistance with literature searching
Input into mandatory training
Application of critical thinking

Midwifery Practice Outcomes

Antenatal breastfeeding workshops found to be ineffective and costly therefore terminated
Bilirubinometer found to be effective in screening for neonatal jaundice thus saving thousands of pounds in time and resources for the Trust and being more acceptable to women
Four hour partogram shown to reduce interventions and transfers from Midwifery Led Unit to central Delivery Suite without creating any adverse maternal or neonatal outcomes thus implemented
Implementation of multi-faceted education and breastfeeding information provision altered following the recommendations of the Breastfeeding and Family Life Study

Research Output Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust

The Midwifery Research Team have presented their research findings at a variety of local, national and international conferences including Toronto, North Carolina, Vienna, Tanzania, Sweden, Brisbane and Uganda. The Department won the Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust “Focusing on Excellence Award” in 2005 for the Research and Evidence in Practice category. Recent research publications are shown below (alphabetical order). Annual Midwifery Research Conference

Since 1998, the department has held an Annual Midwifery Research conference attended by 100 delegates every October. The findings of our research and those of invited speakers are presented. These days are always well evaluated and prove to be stimulating and thought provoking!

This year, the 11th Annual Midwifery Research Conference "Making Midwifery & Women's Health Matter" will be held on Thursday 2nd October 2008 in the Blair Bell Education Centre, Liverpool Women's Hospital. Click here for full conference programme. For further information about the conference or any other aspect of the Midwifery Research Department please contact lisa.baker@lwh.nhs.uk or gillian.houghton@lwh.nhs.uk

Research Publications [PDF]