BAME Birthing With Colour 2025: Talks. Workshops. Networking. Social. CPD

The BAME Birthing With Colour Conference 2025 is a one day virtual conference highlighting maternity issues facing diverse and vulnerable communities....

.... It's Where Maternity Professionals and Service Users Meet

This year's theme is: Persistent Disparities in Maternity Care for Diverse and Vulnerable Communities

Join us for a mix of presentations, workshops, networking and socialising. The day rounds out with our famous Wind Down Zone. An opportunity to decompress your way: Yoga, Zumba, Pilates, Relaxation, Discussions, Cultural Presentations...

Proceeds from the conference - and in fact everything that the organisers do - support projects that resonate with its core mission and values:

To date we have funded a bursary scheme, wellbeing wallets for expectant mothers, essential maternity literature in different languages... and so much more.

The organising committee work on an entirely pro bono basis.

Please meet the speakers, workshop leaders, panellists and instructors below.

Certificate of Attendance in support of Continuous Professional Development will be issued.

CONFERENCE THEME:

PERSISTENT DISPARITIES IN MATERNITY CARE FOR DIVERSE AND VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES

Registrations. Opening Addresses. Session 1

Your programme consists of presentations, workshops, debates, networking, and The Wind Down Zone! There's plenty ahead... and plenty of choice! Please dive in!

JOINING THE SESSION

We will be sending the session link out to all registrants 24 hours before the session.

Please ensure you have the latest version of chrome. You can download it here

09:00 | Welcome | Birthing & Maternity Education Online

Edwin Lampert, Founder, Birthing & Maternity Education Online

09:10 | Keynote speaker – Disparities in maternity - a focus on diverse and vulnerable women

Maternity research highlights the persistent disparities for vulnerable and diverse women during pregnancy. Culturally safe care should be a standard, yet there is a high prevalence of poor experiences for women from ethnic minority groups. This paper will explore why these disparities exist and how to improve maternity care in the future.

Persistent disparities: Black women are nearly four times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth compared to White women. Asian and mixed-ethnicity women also face significant disparities.

Cultural safety: The importance of culturally safe care in improving outcomes for diverse and vulnerable women. This approach aims to facilitate respect for patients' cultural needs and address inequities in care.

Poor experiences: Over 42% of women from ethnic minority backgrounds reported feeling discriminated against during their maternity care. Issues include racial stereotyping, failure to recognise medical conditions, and lack of choice in care options.

Future improvements: Strategies to reduce these disparities, such as evidence-based practice in maternity care; implicit and explicit racism in healthcare settings; and continuity of carer, which has been shown to reduce preterm births and improve outcomes for mothers and babies.

SESSION 1: PERSISTENT DISPARITIES AND CURRENT RESEARCH

The first session of the day will focus on maternal health research, exploring issues from unjust data collection to neonatal health, birth trauma, and terminology in today's healthcare environment.

09:30 - S1: Maternal health research disparities

Topic: While research on women's experiences is vast, there is an apparent 'invisibility' of black and minority ethnic women in research.

09:45 - S1: Cultural differences in neonatal care

Topic: Neonatal care for women in ethnic minority communities is limited in research, literature, and teaching for student midwives. The session will cover identifying jaundice, calculating APGAR scores, and understanding cyanosis in ethnic minority babies.

10:00 - S1: Cultural safety

Topic: Moving towards 'cultural safety' in maternity care and its importance in developing care practices.

10:15 A 20-minute Q&A session that will provide attendees the opportunity to ask questions, seek clarification, and explore the topics further, fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas and insights.

10.35 AM

NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK.

Delegates network (Breakout rooms available)

SESSION 2 – WOMEN'S EXPERIENCES AND HOLISTIC CARE

This session explores holistic care for women, focusing on their experiences throughout the perinatal period. We aim to examine current care practices and identify necessary improvements to provide woman-centred care.

11:00 - S2: Continuity of Care

Topic: The impact of continuity of care on outcomes for mothers and babies, especially for women from diverse and vulnerable communities. Focus on tailored, culturally sensitive perinatal information.

11:15 - S2: Culturally Sensitive Nutrition

Topic: Addressing disproportionate impact of unhealthy eating and diabetes on women in deprived areas. Efforts to reduce gestational diabetes among at-risk women. Supporting healthy eating for migrant women and addressing barriers.

11:30 - S2: Birth Rights and Maternity Action

Topic: Recent developments in maternity action and reproductive justice initiatives. Addressing health inequalities and racial disparities in maternity care.

11: 45 A 20-minute Q&A session that will provide attendees the opportunity to ask questions, seek clarification, and explore the topics further, fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas and insights.

SESSION 3 – THE MIDWIFE IN FOCUS

The third session of the day centres on midwives caring for women from diverse backgrounds, exploring cultural differences in pain perception, bereavement care, and support for midwives. The aim is to equip midwives with tools to implement changes in practice and provide culturally sensitive care.

12:05 - S3: Pain Management in Labour

Topic: Cultural and social differences in pain expression during labour. Focus on cultures with more silent labour experiences and their analgesic needs, ensuring a woman-centred approach.

12:20 - S3: Bereavement Care

Topic: Bereavement care for women from black and minority ethnic communities, exploring their experiences with maternity services.

12:35 - S3: Supporting the Midwife

Topic: Tools and resources to enhance midwives' skills and knowledge in supporting women from diverse backgrounds.

12.50 A 20-minute Q&A session that will provide attendees the opportunity to ask questions, seek clarification, and explore the topics further, fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas and insights.

13.10

LUNCH BREAK

Delegates network (Breakout rooms available)

14:00 – WORKSHOPS

Workshop Session Structure

Our conference will feature six engaging workshops, each lasting 30 minutes. These workshops will run in parallel, allowing attendees to choose from a diverse range of topics. To ensure that everyone has the opportunity to experience at least two different workshops, we will repeat the same set of workshops immediately after the first round. This format provides flexibility and variety, enabling participants to tailor their conference experience to their interests.

WORKSHOP 1A : Birth Trauma Across Diverse Communities

14.00 and 14.30

Focus: Recent developments in trauma-informed care and postpartum psychosis for women from diverse and vulnerable communities.

WORKSHOP 1B: The History of Health Disparities in Maternity Care

14.00 and 14.30

Overview: Exploring the historical context of care and its influence on today's practices, systems, and outcomes. Emphasis on ethnic minority groups disproportionately impacted by poor care, systemic racism, and obstetric violence. Promoting respectful maternity care through understanding historical context.

WORKSHOP 1C: Media Representation and Anticipated Discrimination in Maternity

14.00 and 14.30

Topic: Examining how media portrayal of maternity influences women's decision-making and society's understanding of birth. Exploring the potential anticipation of discrimination by women from diverse backgrounds prior to receiving care, in light of ongoing disparities and systemic racism reflected in media and maternity care.

WORKSHOP 1D:Service Users' Experiences: Birth Stories

14.00 and 14.30

Focus: Women's experiences from diverse and vulnerable backgrounds, highlighting barriers to care, holistic perinatal experiences, and strategies for improving care and outcomes.

WORKSHOP 1E: Challenges for Ethnic Minority Midwives in Leadership

14.00 and 14.30

Topic: Addressing access to midwifery education and career progression for ethnic minority individuals. Examining the Eurocentric midwifery curriculum and its systemic racism. Reviewing changes since the RCM (2024) Decolonizing Midwifery Education Toolkit and recent developments.

WORKSHOP 1F: Creating Space for Black Motherhood

14.00 and 14.30

Overview: Insights from an individual or organisation campaigning for improved Black maternal health outcomes in the UK.

15:00 PANEL DISCUSSION: ADDRESSING DISPARITIES IN MATERNITY CARE

The concluding panel will bring together a dynamic mix of previous speakers, new voices, and service users to tackle the day’s most pressing questions and chart a course for impactful change. This diverse group of thought leaders and advocates will delve into critical issues surrounding maternity care, equity, and empowerment, fostering a collaborative dialogue that aims to inspire actionable solutions.

Key Discussion Points:

· Promoting empowering and culturally sensitive care for women from diverse backgrounds

· Ensuring the focus on respectful maternity care remains a priority in an evolving healthcare system.

· Developing effective feedback mechanisms to capture women's experiences and perspectives on maternity care.

· Addressing challenges faced by midwives and academics from Black and minority ethnic communities in the maternity field.

· Supporting midwives and fostering mutual support in practice.

· Reflecting on the day's learnings and planning future actions.

· Examining reasons for persistent disparities in maternity statistics despite available data and research.

· Comparing UK maternal mortality rates with international trends.

15:45 - CLOSING REMARKS

The closing remarks session will provide a powerful conclusion to the conference, offering diverse perspectives and reflections on the day's events. This segment will feature brief addresses from key stakeholders, each contributing their unique insights:

Service User (5 minutes)

A service users will share their personal experiences and reflections on the conference themes.

Midwifery Representative (5 minutes)

A senior midwifery professional will reflect on the implications of the conference for midwifery practice.

Organisers (5 minutes)

A member of the organising committee will provide final thoughts on the conference.

16:00 - WIND DOWN ZONE

Join us for the Wind Down Zone for a serene networking and relaxation session. This tranquil space invites attendees to unwind and reflect on the day's insights, fostering a sense of community and calm. To enhance this experience, we are offering guided meditation, yoga, and other mindfulness activities designed to rejuvenate both body and mind.

16.45 - 17.00

FINAL NETWORKING AND REFLECTIONS

Conference close