Moray maternity care assistants take to the national stage

Two Moray maternity care assistants are set to take their progress in supporting parent education to the national stage, at the Royal College of Midwives SMiLe Conference in Edinburgh in November.

Sue Petrie from Elgin and Kelly Croudace from Burghead have taken a leading role in running the Parental Early Educators Programme (PEEP) locally for new mums and dads – a five week journey which begins antenatally to encourage parents to develop strong attachment with their baby.

Kelly explained: “Creating a supportive network helps to reduce anxiety and low mood for new parents. We discuss the development of baby and how developing firm bonds between parent and child creates a loving and nurturing environment as the child grows. Classes can also help parents be aware of the more challenging aspects of parenthood and how to deal with them.”

The Scottish Government has provided funding for PEEP classes and hopes to see these made available for all families across Scotland. Kelly and Sue will provide a leading example of how these classes can be delivered, to inspire other maternity teams across the country.

Sue said: “Many women don’t have family close by, especially if they are in the Forces and we have two bases nearby. These classes encourage friendships that are hopefully long lasting, and this has a direct impact on mental health. We’re also able to provide soon-to-be parents with practical, hands-on teaching on how to care for their baby once they have arrived. We also support midwives with postnatal visits and feel very privileged to get to make real connections and follow the journey of new parents.”

Kelly, who jumped at the chance to work with the Women’s Health Clinic after going as far as she could as a healthcare support worker in general practice, says she is passionate about her role within the community midwifery team. She added: “Our connections with families grow as we are able to follow women through their pregnancy journey and look after them in the early days of parenthood. It’s a pleasure to be a part of their lives at such a cherished time.”

Jacqueline Keddie, midwifery lead for Moray, commented: “We’re very proud of our Kelly and Sue, and our trainee maternity care assistant Brittany who looks after Speyside and Banff. They are a huge asset to our team and their efforts to inspire other teams across the country with their parental education programmes is fantastic.”
Find out more about working and living in the North of Scotland: https://www.wishyouworkedhere.scot/