Publish date: 7 June 2023
Northumbria Healthcare in running for two national awards for supporting active pregnancies
Ongoing work at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to support people to stay physically active during pregnancy has been recognised by a national awards scheme.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and its public
The awards aim to highlight the leadership and innovation that has provided more opportunity for women to focus on maintaining a healthy weight and their level of physical activity, while building a community and supporting the health of their families.
Since 2022, the Active Pregnancy Foundation has been delivering the This Mum Moves programme which supports women to make informed choices so they can continue to enjoy and benefit from an active lifestyle. This approach involves providing resources that ensure consistent advice and support throughout their journeys and training ambassadors that can deliver training to all staff.
Carla, who has been nominated for Ambassador of the Year, has delivered training to more than 250 members of staff, including trust and local authority partners. The trust has also supported the training of additional ambassadors including maternity support workers, physiotherapists, and health and wellbeing staff.
Carla, who is passionate about being an ambassador for this scheme, said: “It’s really important to be physically active during pregnancy, even going for regular walks has huge health benefits and improves emotional wellbeing.”
This training has been supported by the Active Hospitals programme which builds upon the extensive work to improve physical activity of staff and patients. The trust was one of the first four trusts nationally to pilot the scheme, with Carla leading on the development of the maternity services pathway alongside the Active Hospitals delivery lead, Ruth Stevens.
Ruth said: “Carla has been a star Active
They embedded the This Mum Moves training into the pathway while funding from Active Hospitals enabled midwife-led aquanatal classes and buggy walks across the region that have been well-attended.
The awards ceremony takes place on Tuesday, 27 June, in London.
Active Hospitals was funded by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Sport England and the National Lottery, and led by the NHS Transformation Unit.