King's Maternity Voices

03/08/2026

Did you miss our General Meeting at the end of June? Here is your catch up 💫

Thank you to everyone who joined us on 30 June and to every service user who has shared their story. Your voice is shaping real change at King’s. Here is a little of what is happening.

🍼 Infant Feeding
Lots is moving behind the scenes. King’s did brilliantly in its UNICEF assessment, a joint infant feeding policy is being developed with the neonatal team, and the new Red Books now include dedicated infant feeding pages with QR codes for support across every borough. We have also launched a survey to hear what you think of the infant feeding clinic and how it can be even better. If you have used it, we would love to hear from you.

🌿 Midwife Led Rooms
Did you know King’s has beautiful midwife led rooms that are ready and available to use as part of your birth planning? So many parents do not know they are there. Ask your midwife about them when you plan your birth.

💬 Keep Sharing Your Feedback
Everything we do comes from what you tell us. Whether your experience was wonderful or difficult, please keep sharing. It helps us celebrate what is going well and push for change where it is needed, including our work on communication around induction of labour and better information for everyone.

🙌 Can You Help Us?
We would love support from service users on a few things coming out of this meeting:
Filming a friendly walk through of our midwife led rooms so parents can see them before their birth
Shaping a clear, reassuring leaflet on C section
Any other projects raised in the minutes that you feel passionate about

If you would like to get involved with any of these, send us a message. No experience needed, just your voice and your time.

Catch up on the full meeting using the link and QR code or the link the bio. Together we are improving maternity 🤍

06/07/2026

03/07/2026

FeedbackFriday 💬

We’re bringing back Feedback Fridays! At King’s MNVP, we want your feedback because your voice shapes safer, kinder maternity and neonatal care.

We raised this at our recent general meeting because it matters more than ever. Both the Ockenden review and Baroness Amos’s national investigation found the same thing: too many women and families were not listened to, and that silence cost lives. In response, NHS England has published a 10 point plan for maternity and neonatal services, with actions trusts are being asked to prioritise now, including:

Monthly public board review of real time patient outcomes and experience data, using tools like the Friends and Family Test and MNVP insight

A clear focus on the experiences of women from minority backgrounds, alongside national rollout of the Perinatal Equity and Anti Discrimination Programme, a programme King’s is proud to be piloting

Reinvigorated clinical audits building on Ockenden and Amos recommendations

Stronger triage, with a board level audit and new national standards on the way

Clearer board level accountability, with medical directors and chief nurses sharing responsibility

This is exactly why we’re bringing Feedback Fridays back. Every response you give us feeds straight into our MNVP feedback dashboard, so your experiences are tracked, visible and acted on, not lost in a form somewhere. As a pilot site for the Perinatal Equity and Anti Discrimination Programme, listening well to every family, especially those from minority backgrounds, is central to what we’re building here.

How is the trust doing when it comes to listening, safety and care? Tell us your experience 🔴🟡🟢

We will continue to listen and share your feedback.

18/04/2026

✨ Something special is coming to Lambeth and Southwark for pregnant service users and it’s completely FREE. ✨

Birth Loop’s first ever women-only event is a baby shower, reimagined. Whether you’re newly pregnant or days away from your due date, you’re welcome here at any stage of your pregnancy.

Everything you love about a baby shower- food, childcare, and that special atmosphere.

Play the Birth Loop preparation board game and take part in the escape room experience, guided by a qualified midwife and counsellor every step of the way.

📸 Plus a photographer to capture every moment.

📅 Saturday 9 May | 10AM–2PM | Brixton
More dates to come and dads and couples events so follow and stay tuned.

🎟️ Free to attend book now at www.birthloop.com

03/04/2026

Are you a present or past service user of an NHS maternity service in England? Could you spare 35 minutes online to anonymously answer our Research Survey?

This research is funded by The Funding Network and supported by the NHS South East London Integrated Care Board, PANDAS Foundation and PANDAS Chiswick. The research will directly inform the design of a novel digital tool built by Ellescope that helps midwives better identify mental health support for their patients.

We believe that we mustn’t leave it to mothers to seek the help they might need post birth; we must empower the NHS with tools that help them to proactively identify person-appropriate support services for EVERY presenting mother.

Interested? Register via this link:
https://lnkd.in/eARgH6DU

30/03/2026

🍼 Shoutout to Ickle Pickles — a brilliant charity that turns donations into life-saving equipment like incubators and ventilators for sick and premature babies in neonatal units across the UK.
They’ve got a fundraising challenge running right now and need your support.
Head to their page to find out more 👇

🔗 www.icklepickles.org

13/03/2026

It was a privilege to attend the Black Mental Health event yesterday hosted by the NHS South East London Integrated Care Board at St George’s Cathedral.

Sarah, a service user who has been working with us on raising awareness around hypertension in pregnancy, also attended. It was great that we were both able to contribute perspectives on community approaches to supporting Black mental health and the importance of listening to lived experience when shaping services.

It was also really nice to see midwives and staff from the South East London Local Maternity and Neonatal System who we work with, and to connect with other community organisations supporting families across South East London.

Events like this are an important reminder of the value of collaboration between communities, service users and professionals in improving support for Black families.

13/03/2026

We’re proud to share that King’s Maternity Voices Partnership has been nominated for Maternity Ambassador of the Year at the Mama Academy Awards 2026 ✨

A huge thank you to the families and professionals who work with us to improve maternity services every day.

📅 Watch live: 19 March | 7:30pm
📺 YouTube:

12/03/2026

💙 NICU Families – You’re Invited! 💙

We’re delighted to share this wonderful opportunity from Ickle Pickles for families who have experienced the NICU journey.

Join the NICU Peer Support Play & Chat sessions at the beautiful Dulwich ArtPlay Pavilion. It’s a welcoming, calm space where parents and little ones can connect, play, and chat with other families who truly understand the NICU experience.

🧸 Perfect for children from birth to five
🗓 Dates:
• Monday 23rd March
• Monday 15th June
• Monday 13th July

⏰ Time: 11:00am – 11:45am
📍 Location: Dulwich ArtPlay Pavilion (SE21 7AD)

This is a lovely chance to meet other parents, share experiences, and enjoy a creative play environment together.

📧 Booking is essential: please email [email protected]

Let’s continue building supportive spaces for NICU families. 💙

ParentSupport