How we support you: Advocacy
Since 2014, we have supported hundreds of families through our advocacy work, both directly with clients and indirectly as service user advocates. We have experience helping families access birth choices clinics, voicing user issues at maternity committees, taking part in regional reviews and audits, supporting families through complaints procedures and much more. We are also proud volunteers of Sands, BirthWise, The Parent Rooms and AIMS.
We'll not speak for you, but we can give you confidence to advocate for yourself.
All of our service user support, representation and advocacy work is to ensure that everyone receives respectful and informed care throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal period.
Supporting your journey
Although an exciting time, pregnancy and birth can be overwhelming. Navigating the maternity system might feel like a maze, especially with disjointed care and limited continuity of carer. It’s not uncommon to get conflicting information and advice along the way, which can make it tough to feel confident in your choices.
Are you considering a birth plan that doesn’t quite fit the usual guidelines? Maybe you’re thinking about a home birth after a previous caesarean birth, or a hospital birth with minimal interventions. Whatever your preference, you deserve to have the birth experience you want.
That’s where our advocacy support comes in. We’re here to help you find the evidence-based information you need for your unique situation, so you can make decisions that are right for you—not just what’s outlined in policies. If you’re feeling like you’re lacking support for your choices, we can connect you with people who understand and can help. And if you’d like some unbiased support during appointments, we’re happy to join you to ask questions and gather information. You’re not alone in this journey!
Our advocacy Experience
- DoH review of Maternity Services in NI with Professor Mary Renfrew
- Chairs of Belfast and Southern Trust’s Maternity Voices Partnerships
- All-Party Group on Women’s Health secretariat in Stormont
- Regional roll-out of Continuity of Midwifery Carer
- GAIN/RQIA Birth at Home Guidelines and MLU Guidelines
- Queen’s Midwifery curriculum development and continued input as service user advocates for both BSc and MSc Midwifery courses
- Improving the Maternity Handheld Record (green notes) to include choice of birth place and birth preferences
- Involvement in a number of regional guidelines and audits working groups, including regional ‘outside of guidelines’ guidelines
- Campaigning for a Maternity Strategy review
- British Intrapartum Care Society, NI and service user representative
- All-Ireland MLU Network service user representative