AIMS Journal, 2017, Vol 29 No 2
What is AIMS up to?
Our Primary campaign for 2017 remains Continuity of Carer and as a key part of this AIMS was part of a wider collaboration of organisations which brought the Celebrating Continuity conference to Leeds (full report below).
AIMS’ other huge project this year is the continuing work on its new website. We are delighted to have information pages written by fantastic authors, and the new site will be much easier to use, and have more accessible content than the current site. We are still fundraising for this and would hugely grateful for any contributions (mydonate.bt.com/events/website/252237).
Deborah Hughes has written our latest pregnancy information book – this time it’s Gestational Diabetes. This issue frequently arises on our helpline, and Deborah has brought the latest research together into this beautifully illustrated, clearly written book which is now available on our website under ‘shop’. We are continuing to work on other titles, and if you are interested in writing a book for AIMS, please do contact us via publications@aims.org.uk.
Speaking of the helpline, it’s as busy as ever and we are looking for volunteers to help. If you are well versed in birth issues and women’s rights and a lay person, and would be interested in joining the team of volunteers, please do email helpline@aims.org.uk. You will be given all the support you need, and fully mentored through the process. You can do as much or as little as you like, and initially your responses would be by email, allowing experienced members to offer guidance and help if needed.
This year, the helpline has helped many hundreds of families and we are seeing worrying trends since the removal of statutory supervision. This, and other NMC related issues such as the insurance situation for IMUK members and confusion around the NMC’s processes are being kept under a very careful AIMS watch. Beverley Beech was present at the meeting with the NMC on 5 May 2017, and AIMS continues to pressure the organisation to resolve the issues that it has in the support of both pregnant women and midwives.
The AIMS Journal spearheads discussions about change and development in the maternity services..
AIMS Journal articles on the website go back to 1960, offering an important historical record of maternity issues over the past 60 years. Please check the date of the article because the situation that it discusses may have changed since it was published. We are also very aware that the language used in many articles may not be the language that AIMS would use today.
To contact the editors, please email: journal@aims.org.uk
We make the AIMS Journal freely available so that as many people as possible can benefit from the articles. If you found this article interesting please consider supporting us by becoming an AIMS member or making a donation. We are a small charity that accepts no commercial sponsorship, in order to preserve our reputation for providing impartial, evidence-based information.
AIMS supports all maternity service users to navigate the system as it exists, and campaigns for a system which truly meets the needs of all.