Chapter 1: Give every child the best start in life
Case study, Deborah Corbett: Public Health Lead Midwife at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Debbie Corbett started her career as a midwife eight years ago and is now the Public Health Lead Midwife at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The team also consists of specialist midwives for tobacco dependency, infant feeding, screening, safeguarding and preterm birth.
Debbie tells us the following key areas are just some of the priorities for her and her team:
- Tobacco dependency in pregnancy
- Healthy weight in pregnancy
- Pregnancy vaccinations
- Perinatal mental health
- Infant feeding
- Safe pregnancy spacing and postnatal contraception
- Alcohol in pregnancy
- Making Every Contact Count (MECC)
- Learning disabilities
Working together, the maternity team at the Queen Elizabeth strive 'to improve the health and wellbeing of Gateshead mothers and their families, giving babies the best start in life is key to reducing health inequalities.' Acknowledging that 'maternity care has the opportunity to promote positive lifestyle change and by working collaboratively with other services, Maternity Voice Partnerships and stakeholders we can improve services, safety and outcomes for women and their families.'
Debbie states, an important and key feature in her role as a Public Health Specialist Midwife is to 'ensure that the core public health agenda is safely and effectively embedded in our operational procedures and work streams to provide safe service and reduce health inequalities for our mothers, babies and their families.'