New maternity care research centre launched

Posted on: 30 September 2022

A new research centre at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Trinity College has launched to identify key issues and improve outcomes for women during pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and early childhood. Assessing and preventing birth trauma, identifying the antenatal education needs of first-time mothers and assessing the services in maternity hospitals for women experiencing urinary incontinence, are all key issues for the Centre’s researchers.

The TCMCR will utilise its long-standing history of working with clinical colleagues to improve practice through research. It strives to generate evidence for practice, service development and policy that will achieve enhanced quality of life and improved outcomes for women, their babies, partners and families through all stages of the reproductive cycle and early childhood. The Centre seeks to facilitate a partnership between clinicians, academic researchers and service users in order to help drive improvements in pregnancy, childbirth, early parenthood and early childhood care, up to and beyond the first 1000 days.

Professor Déirdre Daly, Associate Professor in Midwifery, School of Nursing & Midwifery, said:

“ The TCMCR team is dedicated to achieving excellence in original maternity care research to help drive improvements in pregnancy, childbirth, early parenthood and early childhood care. We prioritise research collaboration with women and families, clinicians in our partner hospitals and services, national and international colleagues, and industry, to identify and respond to research questions of local, national and global significance to childbearing women and their families. We value co-production and partnership in ethical, relevant research with and for women and their families at all stages of the pregnancy, birth, postpartum and early childhood continuum.

Whilst the TCMCR is new, excellent research has been conducted for years here in the School, and the TCMCR now seeks to build on this strong foundation, become nationally and internationally recognised as a centre of excellence in research that leads to positive improvements in the healthcare and services delivered and received.

The establishment of the TCMCR was very much the vision of Professor Cecily Begley, Professor of Midwifery and Nursing, Trinity College, a renowned maternal and child health researcher, nationally and internationally.”

Angela Dunne, National Lead Midwife, National Women and Infant Health Programme, said:

“ Delighted to see the first academic centre with sole focus on key issues facing pregnant and postpartum women and their families. As National Lead Midwife for the National Women and Infant’s Health Programme we look forward to working together to drive improvements in pregnancy, childbirth and early parenthood.”

Margaret Quigley, National Lead for Midwifery within the HSE Office of Nursing and Midwifery Services Director, said:

“ The aim always is to have best possible research and evidence underpinning decision making and advances in woman centred care in the health service. This can be achieved by ensuring that midwives and nurses are skilled at using the best available evidence whilst carrying out their day-to-day practice. A development like the new Trinity Centre for Maternity Care Research has great potential to provide a supportive environment for midwives, nurses and those working in maternity services nationally. Research and evaluation initiatives can then be put into practice so that women and babies are provided with safe and effective, high-quality health and social care.”

The TCMCR wishes to acknowledge and thank the part funding provided by the European Researchers’ Night for this launch event.

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