鈥淲e tend to work on projects linked to a national demand for knowledge or wider themes in the workforce,鈥� says Angela Cartwright, member of the RCN鈥檚 Midwifery Forum. 鈥淏ut we also link in with other forums to better understand where our roles overlap.鈥�
Being actively involved with a forum gives members access to a diverse group of professionals, adds Francesca Steyn, Chair of the RCN Fertility Nursing Forum. 鈥淏y having that access, we have insight into what information members might need,鈥� she says.
Together, Angela and Francesca project-led the RCN鈥檚 Transition from Fertility to Maternity Care guidance, which aims to raise awareness of possible care pathways for pregnant people, their partners and support networks, as they travel through fertility treatment and on to maternity care.
Identifying need
Pregnancy following fertility treatment can be an exciting and challenging time for expectant parents.
Health care professionals may not always have detailed knowledge of the processes people have gone through to become pregnant, including surrogacy and the use of donor gametes.
鈥淭here isn't any type of handover from fertility care into maternity services,鈥� Francesca explains. 鈥淥ften, fertility patients will have gone through a very physically and emotionally demanding process and then if they do finally conceive, they can be quite anxious.
鈥淚t can also sometimes be a long wait. We typically discharge fertility patients at around seven weeks gestation, and they may not see their midwife until 12 weeks, which is a long time.鈥�
We don鈥檛 want to assume that they鈥檙e the same as everyone else
Fertility services are excellent in their area of expertise, but once someone is pregnant, staff don鈥檛 always have comprehensive understanding of the care pathway that follows. It can be hard for them to explain to patients what the next steps will be.
鈥淪imilarly, as maternity staff, we sometimes don鈥檛 know what the patient has already experienced in terms of their care,鈥� says Angela. 鈥淲e may be caring for people who may or may not disclose if they have had fertility treatment and we might not know the effect that experience has had on them.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to assume that because they鈥檙e pregnant, they鈥檙e the same as everyone else.鈥�
Publication process
鈥淭here has always been a gap in care when fertility patients leave our services and enter maternity care,鈥� says Francesca. 鈥淲e wanted to collaborate with our midwifery and early pregnancy colleagues to look at how we can bridge that gap.鈥�
While different, but similar, nursing specialties often sit together within the RCN鈥檚 forum structure (such as women鈥檚 health), members aren鈥檛 necessarily aware of the different expertise and skillsets each person has. Having open conversations has been essential to bring the guidance to life.
鈥淥nce we identified a gap in our resources, we pulled together a project group to help finalise the key themes,鈥� says Angela.
鈥淲e divided the work between us, from fertility to early pregnancy and then maternity. Then our professional lead guided us in how to compile the resource.鈥�
Once the information was collected as a document it was reviewed by an extensive group of external stakeholders and the project team, then the RCN publications and design team took over to make the final product.
Up to the task
Angela understands that most members are stretched for time, but her forum work takes up approximately one day a month. Other forum members were also more than happy to get involved and share the workload.
Angela learned a lot from the process, improving her knowledge to feed back into her clinical role. However, initially she was daunted.
鈥淚 have imposter syndrome,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 always think everybody else knows more than I do, so actually joining the forum was a huge step for me.鈥�
While being involved in a forum is positive for continuing professional development, it can also be very fulfilling, as well as an opportunity to get involved with the wider profession.
鈥淒on鈥檛 steer away from work you don鈥檛 recognise,鈥� Angela adds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an excellent opportunity to do some research and learn more. If you don鈥檛 have the expertise, forum work allows you to get the expertise in the room with you.鈥�
Francesca also found the process rewarding, and she represents the forum at events and on other projects such as guideline committees and stakeholder groups.
She says: 鈥淚t's a fantastic opportunity to have my finger on the pulse of what is going on in my sector and the wider nursing profession.鈥�
