Long-time followers of FTWW will be aware that perinatal mental health is one of our campaign areas, led by our Champion, Nia, whose own experiences of postpartum psychosis led her to campaign for a unit close to home with Welsh language provision.
Volunteers
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Welcome, Louise!
We’re delighted to welcome our new Volunteer and Community Coordinator, Louise Kalicinski, to our team! Louise is based in South Wales and joins FTWW from a background of working with children and families from diverse communities.
FTWW and Patient Voices at the All-Wales Clinical Supervisors for Midwives Network
FTWW’s Debbie and Isabel were pleased to be able to present to the All-Wales Clinical Supervisors for Midwives Network on 30th October, on the need for maternity services and care to understand and accommodate the needs of those who are living with long-term health conditions, are disabled, or neurodivergent.
Menopause Awareness Month: Empowering Conversations and Support
October is menopause awareness month and – as one of FTWW’s key campaign areas – we have been very busy attending and hosting events and shining a spotlight on life with menopause. We were delighted to spend World Menopause Day with our friends from Cysters at their fantastic ‘Marginalised and Menopausal’ event in Cardiff. We also hosted a webinar for FTWW members, ‘Managing Menopause Symptoms with CBT’, led by FTWW Volunteer Menopause Champion and Principal Clinical Psychologist, Dr Dawn Owen DClinPsy. Fellow FTWW Volunteer Menopause Champion, Lisa Nicholls, was also interviewed by BBC Radio Wales’ Jason Mohammed…
Endometriosis Cymru – RAISE Study
Researchers at Cardiff and Bangor University, (including FTWW Volunteer Endometriosis Champion, Rachel!) want to find out what works (or doesn’t!) in using tracking apps/diaries, specifically the Endometriosis Cymru Symptom Reporting Tool.
Decode ME
Following the very exciting initial findings from the Decode ME study, which found that people with a Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) diagnosis have significant genetic differences in their DNA compared to the general population, we were delighted to hear BBC Radio Wales cover the study – and people’s lived experiences – in detail during an episode of The Phone in with Oliver Hides.
What we’ve been up to this month…
We’ve had a great month of attending a wide range of events including Cardiff and Vale University Health Board’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Community event, the Senedd Cross-Party Group on Women’s Health, Betsi Cadwaladr’s Women’s Health Stakeholder Event for health board staff, and The WOMB Summer Festival in Cardiff.
Everywoman Festival
We were thrilled to be invited to take to the main stage at this year’s Everywoman Festival, with Engagement Officer, Dee, a panellist alongside NHS Wales Women’s Health Clinical Lead, Dr Helen Munro, and Director of the new Wales Women’s Health Research Centre, Professor Jacky Boivin, and Chaired by the Chief Nursing Officer, Sue Tranka.
Volunteers’ Week
We couldn’t have the reach or impact we do without our amazing volunteers throughout Wales.
Here are just some of the activities our volunteers have participated in this month:
Sam Skelton
We are very sad to share the news that valued FTWW member, Sam Skelton (pictured), very sadly passed away on 18th July.
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