Developing Nottingham’s pregnancy mentor apprenticeship
Lisa Common, Consultant Midwife at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, discusses the development of a new maternity role in Nottingham.
The aim of the Pregnancy Mentor Apprentice project was to develop a new maternity workforce role that would be equipped to deliver maternity care differently.
In the context of a national shortage of midwives (House of Commons, 2022)[1], Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust wanted to explore how a new Maternity Support Worker (MSW) role enhanced by additional academic and practical training could support women, birthing people, their babies and families during their maternity care. Running for two and a half years, the Nottingham Pregnancy Mentor Apprenticeship Project represented a £1.12m investment, with access to the service focused on communities within the four SSBC wards of Aspley, Bulwell, Hyson Green and Arboretum, and St Ann’s.
Sixteen apprentices were recruited. As part of their academic training, this cohort attended Birmingham City University weekly, studying towards a Level 5 Assistant Practitioner (Maternity) higher apprenticeship foundation degree (FdSc). These roles worked in collaboration with MSWs and Community Midwives. The apprentices were supported by a Clinical Educator recruited specifically for this project to support work-based clinical skills development and academic mentorship.
Small Steps Big Changes (SSBC) and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) worked together to design a referral pathway for families and several core visits for Pregnancy Mentors to undertake with families under their care that were additional to visits and appointments with the MSW or community midwife. These visits focused on key public health outcomes and supporting referrals to more specialist support when needed.
SSBC and NUH used the principles of ‘test and learn’ to establish whether the introduction of this new role, Pregnancy Mentor (PM), contributed to reducing inequalities and improving public health outcomes for the defined populations locally. This was an exciting, innovative project for the local maternity service, introducing a new role into a well-established structure was not without its challenges, however. Evaluation[2] of the service shows that families have benefitted from having consistent support in the antenatal period, while the project itself has provided further education, training and career opportunities for local people.
[1] Health and Social Care Committee: The safety of maternity services in England. Fourth Report of Session 2021-22. Available online at: Safety of maternity services in England (parliament.uk) Accessed 16 October 2024..
[2]Pregnancy Mentor Apprentice Project: Final Evaluation Report – November 2024. Available online at: www.smallstepsbigchanges.org.uk
To date, the service has supported 538 people through the antenatal and postnatal phases of their pregnancies, with fathers and/or partners present. This included 404 visits.
‘Without this service I believe my partner would have seriously struggled throughout her antenatal care. The pregnancy mentor was an absolute highlight and joy to have. Consistently going out of her way to make us feel at ease and to calm any worries we may have had.’
Most of the women supported told us that they rated their care highly, and had gained knowledge, skills and confidence through their pregnancy mentor’s support.
‘We didn’t know what to do and [the PM] was crucial helping us with that. We were 100% prepared, we wouldn’t have been otherwise without this service’
Women said they ‘really loved’ their pregnancy mentor and that they were ‘amazing’!
‘The continuity was essential; we wouldn’t have engaged if it had been different people.’
This shows how continuity in care by appropriately skilled professionals can enhance care and satisfaction for families. The project also highlights the range and depth of social and emotional need in the antenatal period.
Pregnancy Mentor’s Reflections
Apprenticeships in midwifery are not commonplace. However, SSBC along with its local partner, have shown that they represent a vital tool for families and local community teams. They also provide opportunities for social mobility with enhanced career options, continued education and richer, more fulfilled lives.
The full evaluation report is available via the SSBC website: www.smallstepsbigchanges.org.uk
About A Better Start
A Better Start is a ten-year (2015-2025), £215 million programme set-up by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.
Five A Better Start partnerships based in Blackpool, Bradford, Lambeth, Nottingham and Southend are supporting families to give their babies and very young children the best possible start in life. Working with local parents, the A Better Start partnerships are developing and testing ways to improve their children’s diet and nutrition, social and emotional development, and speech, language and communication.
The work of the programme is grounded in scientific evidence and research. A Better Start is place-based and enabling systems change. It aims to improve the way that organisations work together and with families to shift attitudes and spending towards preventing problems that can start in early life. It is one of five major programmes set up by The National Lottery Community Fund to test and learn from new approaches to designing services which aim to make people’s lives healthier and happier
The National Children’s Bureau is coordinating an ambitious programme of shared learning for A Better Start, disseminating the partnerships’ experiences in creating innovative services far and wide, so that others working in early childhood development or place-based systems change can benefit.
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Visit the A Better Start website to find out more.