Maternal Medicine Centre experts host national obstetrics conference
Experts from the Maternal Medicine Centre at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) have organised a national conference for health professionals who work in obstetrics.
The 46th MacDonald Obstetric Medicine Society (MOMS) conference was held in Norwich earlier this month with a focus on topics including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.
NNUH’s Maternal Medicine Centre (MMC) is a regional centre in the East of England, and comprises a team of doctors, midwives, nurses and other specialists with specific training and experience in the care of medical problems in pregnancy. The centre also offers a pre-pregnancy counselling service which provides advice for people with existing medical conditions, or those on long term medication, who are planning a pregnancy.
Approximately 200 people attended the conference, the largest attendance at a MOMS event. NNUH consultants Fran Harlow and Mark Andrews, and MMC project manager Charlotte Davies were the key local organisers of the event.
Mr Tony Kelly, National Clinical Advisor for Maternal and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme at NHS England, announced the new Maternity Early Warning Score, a tool being introduced to help to identify deterioration in pregnant patients across all maternity units in England. There were other presentations on cardiac risk factors, advances in diabetes technology during pregnancy and pregnancy following bariatric surgery which included local expert speakers Mr Charles Bircher, Dr Helen Murphy and Dr Tara Lee.
Dr Mark Andrews said: “It was a pleasure to be asked to organise the event which was a huge success. There were some fascinating presentations covering best practice and new research findings in this increasingly challenging and important field of obstetric medicine. One of the strengths of the meeting was bringing together obstetricians, midwives and physicians involved in looking after pregnant people across the whole country as well as some from abroad.”
He added: “At NNUH we are always striving to improve the care for pregnant people with significant medical problems, both before, during and after pregnancy. Discussions at the conference provided great opportunities for shared learning and future collaborations with colleagues who work in obstetrics across the country.”