In June 2015 a group of four UCLan midwifery students from different cohorts – including both direct entry and short course students – came together with support from lecturers to form the UCLan Midwifery Society.
The society aims to inspire and support students and midwives in creating positive birth experiences for women and families through education-based conferences and forums and a proactive social media presence. They also assist fellow students with attendance on study days and elective placements.
This year the society is helping to fundraise for stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands, by organising 10 events in 10 months including a polar swim, zumbathon and charity ball to name a few.
The following short article, written by Maeve Regan (Chair) describes how UCLan Midwifery Society first started and how its work continues to encourage innovative thinking and shared ideas which complement midwifery education and learning.
University of Central Lancashire Midwifery Society
In June 2015 a group of four UCLan midwifery students from different cohorts – including both direct entry and short course students – came together with support from lecturers to form the UCLan Midwifery Society.
We were able to build on the long-standing success of the monthly Passionate Midwifery Forum which had already been running for five years – providing an opportunity for midwives, students and others holding an interest in the childbirth continuum to come together with a 
common focus.
Recent well-received events have included Midwifery from an International Perspective, Home Birth, Supporting Women with Disabilities when Pregnant and Perinatal Mental Health.
The newly formed UCLan Midwifery Society took over responsibility for organising Passionate Midwifery, as well as organising fundraising, social media activity and conferences. We launched with a conference in June 2015 called The Butterfly Effect which inspired attendees to identify small changes that they could make to their practice in order to create more positive experiences for women and families. We were honoured to have RCM president Lesley Page open the conference and welcome us into the growing body of student midwifery societies.
The highlight of last year was our Challenge Today, Change Tomorrow conference. Underpinned by the theme of changes in practice we put together a star-studded line up to celebrate improvements to practice such as skin to skin and delayed cord clamping, and looked forward at new initiatives including gentle caesarean sections.
Lesley Page kindly returned, along with other guest speakers including Sheena Byrom, Mark Harris and Jenny Clarke. With our very own Hannah Tizard, one of the founding members of the society, speaking about her Blood to Baby campaign, we were able to showcase a wide range of topics relevant to the practices of today and important for the practices of tomorrow. The society prides itself on fundraising and through cake sales and a raffle we were able to donate £220 to the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust and £220 to Soapbox Collaborative.
Our conferences have been very successful, with excellent feedback from both guest speakers and delegates. We have all enhanced our transferable skills in areas such as marketing, negotiation and team work, and built friendships across different cohorts. In addition to our own personal development, we have raised lots of money for charity, and have been able to support fellow students with attendance on study days and elective placements.
This year, as well as our regular Passionate Midwifery sessions and conferences, we are raising money for Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity. We are organising 10 events in 10 months using the tag #Challenge10. Events include a polar swim, zumbathon and charity ball. Details will be shared on our page at facebook.com/UCLanMidSoc
Maeve Regan, Chair, UCLan Midwifery Society, March 2017
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