News Release
Charity awards to celebrate the UK’s Maternity Unit Marvels
- Baby Lifeline wants to give an opportunity to showcase stories of exceptional care in the delivery of babies in the UK. It is time to celebrate the hard work of professionals in the NHS and give families a chance to say ‘thank you’.
- Baby Lifeline is thrilled to announce the launch of the 2023 MUM awards. The public are now invited to submit their nominations at www.babylifeline.org.uk/uk-mum-awards-2023
23 MAY 2023 – The UK’s leading maternity safety charity, Baby Lifeline, has opened voting/nominations for its UK Maternity Unit Marvels (MUM) Awards. They give parents, guardians and families the chance to say thank you to the team of professionals who made the birth of their child possible.
Every day, multi-disciplinary teams give their all to help bring babies into the world safely. Baby Lifeline champions the work of midwives, obstetricians, neonatal doctors and nurses, anaesthetists, GPs and paramedics in the work they do to deliver babies safely and care for mothers and birthing people. These awards will recognise the best in the UK and say thank you to them.
There are many examples of exceptional maternity and neonatal care, and in order to celebrate and showcase these stories, Baby Lifeline would like to invite the public who experienced complications or problems with a pregnancy or birth in the last eight years (babies born after 02 May 2015) to nominate the team of professionals who looked after them and ensured the survival of the baby, for a MUM Award.
A star-studded judging panel including Dame Ruth May and Donna Ockenden, will select one winner from 10 regions across the UK, as well as a healthcare community winner and one overall national winner.
David Tennant, Ambassador for Baby Lifeline, said: “I am proud to support Baby Lifeline’s 2023 MUM Awards to celebrate the incredible stories of heroic healthcare professionals who work tirelessly to deliver babies safely, especially when faced with complications that can be very distressing for parents. As a dad of five, I know exactly what this feels like and how important it is to have these wonderful individuals and teams around you during this time. If you have a story you want to tell about the birth of your child, please join me in celebrating the healthcare professionals that helped you by nominating them for an award.”
A star-studded judging panel including Dame Ruth May and Donna Ockenden, will select one winning team from each of the UK’s ten NHS regions, as well as healthcare community winners. An overall, national winning team will then be announced.
The overall winning entry from across the UK will receive a midweek or weekend holiday for up to six people at any of the UK Center Parcs locations.
Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England and Judge of the UK MUM Awards, said: “These awards are a wonderful opportunity to thank the maternity professionals who go above and beyond every day and I am extremely excited to be a part of this panel where we will see our maternity heroes get the spotlight they richly deserve.”
“These incredible stories will show what our healthcare colleagues achieve on a daily basis – as Chief Nursing Officer, and a mum, I am dedicated to improving patient outcomes and supporting a strengthened nursing and midwifery workforce fit for the future and I look forward to celebrating the work of these amazing individuals.”
Dr Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: “I am delighted to join the judging panel for the UK Maternity Unit Marvels awards. At a time of real NHS pressure, dedicated maternity teams across the country are working incredibly hard. These awards are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate their excellence and compassion”.
Judy Ledger, Founder and CEO at Baby Lifeline, said: “Baby Lifeline’s UK MUM Awards are back! We want to say thank you to Britain’s maternity professionals for the tireless work that they are doing. Every day there are maternity care heroes going above and beyond to help parents and babies. Please vote today for your Maternity Unit Marvels.”
Nominations can be submitted here: https://www.babylifeline.org.uk/uk-mum-awards-2023
Ends
Notes to editors
These awards are vital to celebrate the best care in the country, because medical professionals are giving their all for newborns each day. But it is still a sad fact that the UK has a relatively high rate of neonatal (up to 28 days post-birth) mortality compared with many other European countries, with 13 deaths a day.[1] On average two babies die each day either before, during or shortly after birth in London, which is higher than the national average. [1] Baby Lifeline’s mission is to ensure the healthiest outcome possible from pregnancy and birth, and more needs to be done
The MUM Awards dinner, where the overall national winner will be announced, will be hosted by television presenter Nick Owen at The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on Thursday 5th October 2023, with a private reception for nominated healthcare professionals taking place on Wednesday 4th October at Downing Street.
Winning families and children will be treated to a day of fun at Center Parcs on 22nd October 2023 and the overall winning family will win a weekend holiday at Center Parcs!
Award judges include:
- Donna Ockenden, Chair of the Independent Review into Maternity Services at the Nottingham University Hospitals Trust
- Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England
- Dr Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)
- Keith Bromwich, Senior Lecturer Paramedic Science, Clinical Skills And Simulation, Buckinghamshire New University
- Gill Walton, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM)
- Guy Forster, Partner, Irwin Mitchell
- Suzanne White, Partner, Leigh Day
- Dr Christopher Dewhurst, Consultant Neonatologist and the Deputy Medical Director at Liverpool Women’s Hospital
- Dr Nick Tait, GP and member of Baby Lifeline’s Multi-Professional Advisory Panel
For further information contact:
Judy Ledger
+447932102403
About Baby Lifeline
Baby Lifeline is a unique national charity supporting the care of pregnant women, birthing people and newborn babies all over the UK and worldwide. It is recognised as one of the UK’s leading mother and newborn baby charities. Driven by the personal loss of three premature babies, Judy Ledger formed Baby Lifeline in 1981. As a registered nurse and a bereaved mother, Judy brought both an understanding of the tragedy of losing a baby and also of the exceptional skills and dedication shown by medical professionals often in adverse and under-resourced conditions.
From setting out to raise funds for just one incubator for Coventry’s Neonatal Unit after losing her third baby – Stuart – Judy has led Baby Lifeline to what it is today. The charity has raised millions of pounds, equipping and supporting specialist training in maternity units across the UK, as well as providing training internationally, delivered by a not-for-profit social enterprise company – Baby Lifeline Training Ltd (registered company no: 6487982). This specialist training is provided alongside leading experts, to help ensure that best practice is achieved and maintained, and that the dedicated medical, midwifery and nursing teams are able to exchange and disseminate vital and pertinent information. Training materials have been produced and distributed throughout the UK and worldwide to health professionals practising in childbirth.
About The MUM Awards
Created by Baby Lifeline in 2005, the UK MUM Awards are designed to publicly recognise the amazing dedication and expertise that exists in our maternity sector. The awards are supported by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and sponsored by Irwin Mitchell and Leigh Day.
Supported by:
[1] Office for National Statistics (ONS)