Tamsyn

Hello!

As a midwife, I've worked in a variety of NHS trusts and maternity service areas. Favourite parts of my career so far have included working in a continuity of carer team. Trusting relationships between midwives and families enable the fullest expression of what safe care really means. I have also been very fortunate to work with Birth Companions, a charity that supports perinatal women facing disadvantage, where I learnt about the importance of trauma-informed care.

Studying for a Master's in Primary Maternity Care confirmed what I'd seen in practice - that the best midwifery depends upon a social model of care. This recognises holistic support as essential to meet individuals' unique needs. I was particularly interested to deepen my knowledge of perinatal mental health, breastfeeding, and the benefits of peer support in maternity services.

Risk is inherent in pregnancy, birth and motherhood - as in life - and it is most effectively minimised through personalised care and a strengths-based lens of salutogenesis. This word comes from the latin 'saluto' for health, and asks us to look at what supports optimal physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness.

While my practice is influenced by valuing peoples' capacity for health, I am also aware that some antenatal courses can lead to women feeling feeling like they've failed when things don't go to plan. This is why care has to be personal and, the unpredictability of birth, which involves factors beyond our control, has to be acknowledged and respected.

More recently, I have integrated my training in alternative therapies and my passion for yoga into my work. Alongside supporting families, I love teaching yoga to colleagues. When midwives are genuinely and wholeheartedly cared for they are more able to look after families.

During my career, I have been very fortunate to experience midwifery in different settings abroad - from a convent hospital in Hyderabad to a birth centre in Nairobi and a midwifery school in the Alpujarras. Birth culture is something that has always fascinated me because whoever we are and wherever we find ourselves, we are affected by birth!

The challenge in birth at the moment is that many people are disadvantaged by 'too much too soon' (i.e. unnecessary intervention) or 'too little too late'  (i.e. avoidable poor outcomes). I believe (and the evidence backs it up!) that personalised care,  which brings less judgement and more compassion, is essential for the improvement of maternity services. 

Birthing people's lived experience must be the starting point for midwifery practice and the place to which we always return to make progress. That is why I love to support families through their unique journeys into parenthood.