Maternity and children's services collaborate 

St Mary’s Maternity Unit at University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) has partnered with the charity, Downright Perfect, to support families who have a baby with Down’s Syndrome diagnosis.  

Established by a group of Dorset-based parents to children with Down’s Syndrome, and registered as a charity in 2014, Downright Perfect works to provide better access for children to early intervention therapies, and also offers support to expectant and new parents while they adjust to their baby’s diagnosis of Down’s Syndrome. 

Claire Oakley, trustee and new parent contact at Downright Perfect, said: “We know from our own stories that the way in which a diagnosis is delivered and experienced during maternity care can frame how a family adjusts to the news that their baby has Down’s Syndrome. It can be an extremely vulnerable time for parents with a lot of mixed emotions which are hard to understand unless you have been in a similar position. 

We are excited to be working with the maternity service to provide annual information sessions to midwifery professionals, using the real lived experiences from our families with a view to empowering staff and improving support for families.”

Kerry Taylor is head of midwifery at UHD. She added: 

“One of our trust values is to be ‘always improving’, and we are keen that within our maternity department we continually grow and develop.”

“We are delighted to be working closely with Downright Perfect to ensure that our staff are well-informed regarding how we can best support families. Our colleagues will have the opportunity to attend a training session, run by Downright Perfect, to truly understand how they can have the biggest impact on local families.”

“We are fortunate to have such a wonderful local charity working with us who have already demonstrated that together, we can help to improve services.”

Downright Perfect will also continue to provide New Parent Hospital Packs containing accurate information about Down’s Syndrome and the support available which will be distributed by the maternity unit. For more information, visit their website: https://www.downrightperfect.org/