A need for better quality, evidence-based, data-led information The results of the Patient Information Forum (PIF) Maternity Decisions: Induction survey in 2021 were not unexpected but made for sobering reading all the same. Rates of induction in the UK are rising, but some women ranked fear of induction as one of their biggest concerns as…
I’m very pleased to report that Luna Foundation’s project in Kent and Medway has been highly commended in the Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards. The panel was ‘extremely impressed’ at the work Luna has delivered in Kent and Medway to improve the support for children and young people bereaved by suicide and ‘the amount of hard…
New review How to Help Someone After a Miscarriage has been reviewed in the British Journal of Psychiatry’s Bulletin. You can read the review here. Foster’s own difficult experience combined with her commitment to representing the views of the many women who have experienced miscarriage lends a personal and empathetic quality to the advice provided…….
Last week I was back in London for the first time since Covid lockdowns and baby Jay (who is now two and no longer really a baby). I was there to celebrate Luna Foundation’s first birthday at RSA House. The Luna Foundation Luna was established on 17 March 2022 by Anna Wardley. Anna’s father, Ralph,…
Over 2022 I have been project-managing (and doing the majority of the work on) a new website for Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP). APP is a small charity, struggling after Covid and with the cost of living crisis. They could not afford an expensive agency to work on their new design, structure and content. A…
Leaflets for parents and professionals supporting children bereaved by parental suicide Before Christmas I wrote about Anna Wardley’s Four Thought about parental suicide and the work I am doing for the Luna Foundation. I’m now pleased to say the two new leaflets – one for families and one for professionals are now available on Luna’s…
I’ve recently finished editing an audio conversation with two women who have experienced pregnancy after loss. We chatted over Zoom, sharing what we found hard, how we coped and what advice we would have for someone going through something similar. I’ve done a few of these conversations recently. It’s part of a suggestion I made…
My biggest worry is not piles, or stretch marks. It’s losing my baby again. Do you want to ‘end’ or ‘delete’ your pregnancy? There’s a picture in an app on my phone of a tiny embryo. Apparently, my baby is the size of a peach. Their tiny heart is beating fast. Except it isn’t. I’ve…
Samaritans have been building a hub of online safety resources for everyone who might use the internet to seek support or talk about suicide, suicidal feelings and self-harm. The most recent addition is guidance for parents on talking to your child about self-harm and suicide content online. I wrote this for them earlier this year….
Ten years of APP peer support Action on Postpartum Psychosis have been offering life-saving peer support to women and their families since 2012. Over the last ten years, I have delivered their peer supporter training sessions and created new resources for them. Their peer support offering has gone from strength to strength. They now offer…
Supporting rail staff to manage remote contacts with vulnerable people Samaritans have just launched a guidance document I wrote for them earlier this year. The document is for people working on customer services or social media platforms at train operating companies across the UK. It provides support and guidance to help them support and signpost…
My book on how to support someone after a miscarriage, ectopic or molar pregnancy has been published. It has information on miscarriage, ectopic and molar pregnancies, the possible physical and emotional impacts and other related issues. It explores how to talk about them, practical matters, providing ongoing support and helping someone through pregnancy after loss….
The Miscarriage Association has recently published a hub of information and support resources for employees, employers, managers, colleagues and HR staff. After a year spent researching, writing and creating the information, case studies and films, it’s fantastic to see them live. Ironically, I suffered a missed miscarriage during this time. Needless to say the Miscarriage…
1915 In 1915, Margaret Llewelyn Davies edited and published ‘Maternity – Letters From Working Women’. This moving collection of letters from members of the Women’s Co-operative Guild details their experiences of pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, stillbirth, infant death and parenting. At the end of every letter was listed the family salary and the number of miscarriages,…