Today, we’re celebrating International Nurses Day where, during these trying times, we celebrate everything nurses up and down the country do for us, everyday. To celebrate, we caught up with Cheryl Wyatt, whose specialist temporary research midwife post is funded by Baby Beat..
What is your job?
Baby Beat Research Midwife.
Tell us what that means you do for mums and babies and families?
I work on the development and running of clinical research studies for pregnant women and babies at our trust. This means I invite women to take part in any research projects that are relevant to them, and follow them through their pregnancy and birth. We do lots of different types of research, all of which aims to improve outcomes for all our Mums and Babies now and in the future. The more we understand about the best way to manage certain conditions during pregnancy, the better the care we can give to our women and their families.
What made you want to become a midwife?
I was working as an Anaesthetic Nurse and started working in the maternity theatre. I was totally in awe of the midwives I was working alongside and how amazing and varied their job was. I loved being involved with helping Mums bring their babies into the world and so decided to apply to train as a Midwife.
How long have you been in midwifery? And how long at RPH?
I have been a Midwife for 3 years and started at RPH as soon as I qualified.
How long did your training last?
I did 3 years of training to be an Adult Nurse then 20 months to train as a Midwife.
What’s your usual working day like?
Different every day! I usually attend Antenatal clinic first thing in the morning to screen for any women that may be suitable for our studies. I will see any women for follow up appointments that are already in some of our studies and approach new women to ask if they would like to take part. I could be spending time completing training courses for our research studies and working alongside other members of the maternity team to promote research and encourage participation for staff.
Our team frequently meet with other Research Midwives from hospitals across the North West and we link with UCLAN to share our knowledge and skills to help improve outcomes for mums and babies at a local and regional level. Part of my day could be spent at another hospital site. Some days I am in my office a lot, others I am seeing women and their babies all around the Sharoe Green Unit.
Tell us something interesting or funny or heartwarming that has happened at work.
It is always really lovely to recruit a woman to a study early in their pregnancy and see them regularly to the end. In Research we have the wonderful opportunity to give extra time to our women to chat, not only about the studies they are in but about anything else and we do build close bonds with lots of the women. It is fantastic and so rewarding to meet their newborns at the end.
How have Baby Beat helped and supported babies and mums in your area of work?
Baby Beat currently funds my role as a Research Midwife for 22.5 hours per week. This enables our team to conduct more research in a wider range of studies and support more mums and babies.
Tell us a bit about you – your hobbies, likes and dislikes.
I am a busy Mum with a husband and 2 young, active boys. We love being outdoors and our favourite thing is camping in North Wales. I really like trips to our static caravan, sat on the deck in the peace of the countryside. It’s the perfect contrast to a busy job! I really dislike anyone being rude or unpleasant to others in any situation. Be kind always!