RCM calls for questions ahead of COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy webinar
By Colin Beesley on 04 June 2021 Covid-19
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is holding a webinar on vaccination and pregnancy for its members and other health professionals on Friday 11 June from 12:30 to 14:00. The event comes as access to vaccinations is being opened-up to women in younger age groups, many of whom will be pregnant or thinking about having a baby. It also follows an ‘Are you pregnant’ button becoming available on the national COVID-19 vaccination booking site to guide women to specific information for them.
This webinar, and previous ones, is one of the RCM’s response to the swirl of information and misinformation around vaccines and pregnancy during the pandemic. Official advice has also been changing over time as new evidence comes to light.
Amid that vortex the RCM, along with partners including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), has been making sure that the right, up to date and evidence-based information for midwives and other health professionals has been easily available.
“We know how hard it can be for already busy and time-pressed midwives, student midwives and maternity support workers to keep up to date with fast-changing advice around vaccines. That’s why we have been constantly updating the information on our website’s COVID-19 hub when the advice has changed, and why we are holding another webinar,” said Dr Mary Ross-Davie, the RCM’s Director for Professional Midwifery. “We know that every day pregnant women will be asking their midwives about vaccination in pregnancy: is it safe? When is best for them to have the vaccine? Which vaccine is best and how do they access the vaccine if they decide to have it? We want our members to feel equipped to answer these questions with accurate, evidence-based information. If you have any questions at all about COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy, do send them to us and the expert webinar panel will aim to answer them.”
The webinar is the latest in the RCM’s ongoing work to keep its members informed and follows previous webinars around COVID-19 for health professionals and women. Among the panel of experts presenting and answering questions during the event will be RCM Professional Policy Advisor, Clare Livingstone, and Jennie Hall, Director of Nursing and Clinical Delivery for the Vaccination Programme at NHS England.
The RCM is asking its members to send in any questions they have to marketing@rcm.org.uk, and there will also be an opportunity to put some live questions to the panel. To book for the webinar go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/vaccines-webinar-for-midwives-tickets-156895465561.
The RCM’s COVID-19 information hub for health professionals and women can be accessed at https://www.rcm.org.uk/coronavirus/.