Devon Maternity and Neonatal Voices

Share your induction experience 💛 If you’ve had an induction of labour in a Devon hospital in the last 2 years, we’d love to hear from you! We’re working with transformation midwives across Devon to better understand induction experiences. Your feedback will directly inform improvements, with our Trust Lead, Helen, working closely with midwife teams to make positive change. Complete our survey for a chance to win one of 8 prizes. Each winner will receive a £25 gift of their choice ✨Love2Shop voucher ✨Little Starts baby classes voucher - pays for classes such a water babies, signing and sensory classes ✨ Or a donation to Birth Rights UK Click the link in our bio to fill in our survey! Thank you for helping us improve maternity care for families across Devon❤

Join our focus group next Tuesday in Plymouth! This group is an opportunity to share your experience being discharged from a maternity unit in Devon 📍 Green Ark Family Hub, Plymouth 🗓 Tuesday 19 May ⏰️ 1pm to 3pm By joining us, you'll... ✨️Help improve the discharge process for families across Devon ✨️Receive a £10 shopping voucher ✨️Get a free lunch ✨️All your expenses covered Find out more and sign up via the link in our bio! Why are we running this focus group? We're running focus groups across Devon to build a report that helps us collaborate with hospital trusts across to improve their discharge process based on your feedback. Who can come? Anyone who has been discharged from a maternity unit or neonatal unit in the last year - including partners or family members! Babies are also welcome to join! Playmats and toys will be available Accessibility - There will be a break during each session - Sensitive topics may arise, please know you are welcome to leave at any point if you feel uncomfortable - There are toilets with changing facilities If you have any other accessibility requirement please let us know in the form and we will try our best to accommodate you to attend Any questions - send us a message!

Exeter Pride 🏳️‍🌈 What a great day! 🥳 We talked to lots of familes as well as listening to feedback about people's experiences in RD&E ... We also loved having an excuse to wear glitter ✨️ Thank you to all the team and volunteers for making today a day to proud of 🌈 Hope to see you next year @exeterpride 😊

Join our 15 steps event on 20 May for the opportunity to explore the Maternity and Neonatal Units in RD&E Hospital and identify ways to improve If you've experienced maternity or neonatal care (whether you're a birthing person or a birthing partner or family member) - we'd love for you to join us! By coming along, you'll.... - Directly help improve RD&E Hospital for future patients and families - Get a free breakfast and lunch (with vegan and GF options) - Get goodie bag including a £20 shopping voucher - Get all your are expenses covered - including childcare, travel and parking Please be aware, this event requires you to book a ticket and have a brief 5 minute phone call with us (if this is not accessible to you - please let us know and we will arrange an alternative). This is to make sure you're well supported throughout the day as hospitals can be emotional spaces to be in. Get your ticket via the link in our bio! "I can tell what kind of care my daughter is going to get within 15 steps of walking onto every new ward" ❓What is a 15 Steps? A 15 steps is an initiative based off the above quote from a service user. As a small group, we'll walk around all the maternity and neonatal wards. You'll have time to explore each space and think about how it feels for you, how easy it is to navigate, how accessible and inclusive it feels. Using the 15 steps toolkit as well as your own lived experience, you'll have the opportunity to suggest improvements. 🤷‍♀️Who can come? Anyone with lived experience of maternity and neonatal care! That includes partners! Babes in arms are welcome! However, due to the nature of walking around the hospital - we're unable to accommodate prams or buggies throughout the walkaround. We're keen to hear from people from lots of different backgrounds and experiences. Everyone is welcome! ♿Accessibility Information • This event is wheelchair accessible and there are lifts to each ward • We will have frequent breaks and opportunity to pause whilst walking around • A copy of the schedule for the day and any necessary resources will be shared in advance Please let us know if you have any other accessibility req

We’re delighted that Devon Maternity and Neonatal Voices (MNVP) will join us on 20 June for Matrescence Festival at @theatrealibi “We listen to families across Devon about their experiences of maternity and neonatal care – whether it was good, bad or a bit of both. As an official partner of NHS Devon, we make sure the voices of women, birthing people and their partners are heard and used to shape improvements to hospital care.” Come and talk to Caitlyn Le Roux or Lara Grigg during the festival to share your story or arrange a meeting to help the DMNVP make real change to maternity and neonatal care in Devon. If you’d like to talk to a member of the team before/after the festival, please email [email protected] or message them on social media @devonmaternityvoices #matrescencefestival #matrescence #devon #maternity

Next week! ✨ Were you discharged from a maternity or neonatal unit in Devon in the last year? Join our friendly focus group to share your feedback on your discharge experience and directly inform future improvements. 📆 Thursday 7 May 🕛 12pm - 1pm 📍 Devon Antenatal Family Centre Sign up via the link in our bio! By coming along, you'll get... 🍽️ Free lunch 🛍️ £10 voucher for the shop 🧸 Free play café & baby sensory area 🚗 Travel + parking covered Who can come? Anyone discharged in the last year from a maternity unit in Devon including birthing partners. Babies are welcome (toys and playmats will be provided!) Accessibility ✔️ Break included ✔️ You can step out at any time ✔️ Changing facilities available Any additional accessibility needs, please let us know :) Sign up via the link in our bio!

Had a wonderful time talking to families at @thefourthcic parent groups today ❤️ Grace, Frankie and all their volunteers do such an incredible job to make a safe and welcoming space. You can tell just how much love and care everyone puts into running the Fourth 🌻 A big thank you to all the families who shared their story and feedback about Torbay hospital with me today! And of course thank you to @thefourthcic for having me! Looking forward to coming again soon 😊 - Caitlyn

Lovely day chatting to people at the Exeter Volunteer Fair! 🌻✨️ Thank you @exetercommunity for organising ❤️

It doesn’t always go to plan. Today, Holly was running late thanks to a car nap. Others were just pulling in at the listed start time. We had toddlers who had their own agendas. We had teeny ones preferring to be in mum’s arms than in their carrier. We had tears. We stopped. We checked in. We waited. We understood. The beauty is that we came together to support one and other. As always ♥️ • A special thank you to @devonmaternityvoices - it was lovely of you to join us and we are all grateful for the work you do.

We're very excited to share that we will be at Exeter Pride this year! ❤ We'll have a stall in the family area in Rougemont Gardens with some chairs and free snacks available for families to sit down and feed their babies. Come say hello and have chat with us! 📆9 May 🕛12 pm - 5 pm See you there!

I had a wonderful time in Barnstaple today meeting all the lovely people from @earlyncic @devonantenatal @familycompassuk @barnstaplelibrary ❤️ So lovely to see all the care and passion put into supporting families in North Devon! I was very fortunate to hear from families about the care they received in Barnstaple's Maternity and SCBU unit in the last few months. Massive thank you to @earlyncic for inviting us along to their feed and nurture group. They provide such a safe and supportive space with a really friendly team of volunteers 💛 I was also very impressed by the Baby Weigh station and toy kits available in Barnstaple library!

It was wonderful to visit the Barnstaple SCBU this morning to share Easter treats and listen to some amazing families share their experiences 💜 Getting to meet more staff with each visit we do is so positive and helpful in building up knowledge and understanding of how the units do their important work in supporting the families 🙏 Please do get in touch if you or a loved one would like to share any maternity or neonatal care experiences with us.