The third annual national conference focused on midwives and midwifery students took place on 17th and 18th May 2024. The motto of this year's conference was "Sharing and caring, for yourself and for her", which offered a rich programme, interesting lectures and practical workshops attended by over 300 professionals from the Czech Republic and abroad.
A rich programme, interesting lectures and a large attendance. These words can be used to characterize the conference aimed primarily at midwives and midwifery students, but also at pediatric nurses, physiotherapists, and other related disciplines. The third edition of the national conference took place on 17 and 18 May 2024 and was attended by over 300 women interested in the subject from all over the Czech Republic and abroad. The conference was held under the auspices of the Mayor of Brno and the Governor of the South Moravian Region. The two-day conference consisted of a theoretical part on Friday and a practical part on Saturday. Ideas and sharing of experiences of the participants continued during an informal evening meeting.
Friday's programme was situated in the Congress Centre of the Continental Hotel. The conference was opened by the head of the GPK FN Brno, Associate Professor Vít Weinberger, together with the Vice-Dean for Non-Medical Programmes of the Faculty of Medicine, Professor Andrea Pokorná, Head Nurse of the GPK FN Brno, Mgr. Andrea Menšíková and the Head of the Midwifery Centre of FN Brno Dr. Miloslava Kameníková. The lecture part was divided into four blocks in which the participants could gain knowledge and learn about new trends in women's care, as well as take a look under the hood of other departments.
The first session focused primarily on the relationship between midwife and parent, but also included shifts in newborn care and collaboration between midwives and pediatric nurses. In the second part, the participants learned not only about the concept of the Midwifery Centre and the results of the National Cross-Sectional Study on Czech women's satisfaction with maternity care, but also about the student's experience from her Erasmus+ internship abroad. The third block offered challenges and opportunities in midwifery education or an explanation of the importance of mentoring. Information on physiotherapy during labour was also presented. The last block was dedicated to the view of childbirth from the position of mothers, their wishes, the possibilities of follow-up postpartum care or care for foreigners in the environment of the Brno University Hospital.
Saturday's practical part of the conference in the form of workshops took place at the MU Faculty of Medicine Simulation Centre and the MU Faculty of Medicine Institute of Health Sciences. Participants could test their skills in various model situations. They could choose from 11 workshops - from the popular simulation of end-of-pelvic delivery, shoulder dystocia and suturing of a birth injury to critical conditions in obstetrics and manual perineal protection to ultrasound diagnostics in midwifery, lactation counselling or care of a woman during pregnancy with homeopathic support.
"The conference brought topics that are crucial for the further development of the industry. As direct participants in the provision of care to women in maternity, all those involved should feel secure in the outcome, both in the professional area and in the area of interpersonal relationships, which are crucial to the outcome. Attention should be paid not only to women's satisfaction, but also to the care of midwives," described Radka Wilhelmová (guarantor of the midwifery study programme at LF MU). Students of the midwifery study programme also participated in the conference on both days, providing free participation and helping with the organisation.
The feedback from the participants was very positive. "I have to say that some of the lectures surprised me and enriched me a lot. The opportunity to share experiences with each other among midwives is what I really appreciate about this conference and I am already looking forward to the next edition," described one of the participants.
The expert guarantee of the event was assumed by the Centre of Midwifery (CPA) of the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Clinic (GPK) of the University Hospital Brno, in cooperation with the Institute of Health Sciences (IHZV) and the Simulation Centre of the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University.
Jan Křivánek and his research group have long been collaborating with Associate Professor Anamaria Balic from the University of Zurich on uncovering the natural behaviour of stem cells. During May, doc. Balic visited the MU Faculty of Medicine in May so that these research teams could discuss their joint scientific projects.
