Maternity staff at University Hospital Wishaw are issuing expecting parents with nurture ribbons as a reminder to think about their baby’s movements.
Babies first movements usually occur between 16 and 24 weeks of pregnancy and every baby’s pattern of movement will be different. The nurture ribbons are intended as a prompt to take time out of your day to think about your baby’s movement and to call triage immediately should there be any changes.
Wendy Duffy, staff midwife at University Hospital Wishaw, said: “When you first start to feel your baby move it can be anything from a flutter to a kick and the type of movement can change the further along you are in your pregnancy.
“We want to stress to expecting parents the importance of knowing the pattern of their baby’s movements and the nurture ribbons is a great way of doing that.
“It is small enough to be attached to a set of keys or to tie around your wrist and reminds you to stop and take a few minutes out of your day to think about your baby’s movement pattern.
“If at any time women experience a change in their pattern or have any concerns about their baby’s movement we strongly advise them to contact maternity triage immediately and not to wait.”
As part of this initiative maternity staff are also implementing the “teach back – technique” which involves asking patients to explain, in their own, words what healthcare staff have just discussed with them to ensure they fully understand.
Lorna Lennox, staff midwife at University Hospital Wishaw, said: “Clear communication is so important for effective healthcare relationships and for patient safety. The teach-back technique is an easy and effective way of doing this.
“When couples become pregnant they are given lots of information and it can sometimes be overwhelming so when it comes to something as important as your baby’s movements. We want to ensure that new parents know what to look out for and are confident in recognising when something has changed, and know never to hesitate in contacting a midwife or maternity unit for advice.”
