BEAMS: BEtter outcomes postnAtally for MumS - Outputs

This work comes from the findings of a national report into why mothers’ die (MBRRACE-UK). It found women who face many challenges in accessing healthcare are more at risk of not getting the right help at the right time.
This can affect their wellbeing and health, sometimes seriously.
The reasons why are complex – one piece of the puzzle is knowing when a symptom is serious that needs medical help.

How can we make information resources more accessible to women experiencing challenges accessing healthcare?

We ran workshops with women across England to ask what changes they would make to postnatal health information using collage to share ideas in accessible ways. We asked how this information could best alert women to get help if they have symptoms which can cause serious illness or death after recently giving birth.

We also asked women to map their circle of trust for health advice and their preferred methods of communication. Taking this information women have written scripts, recorded voiceovers for animations, shared poems, and been involved step-by-step in the creation of resources.

1. Design of accessible information checklist - Made resources WITH people who have lived experience
1. Exemplar using postnatal red flags as a topic
2. Exemplar using postnatal mental health challenges as a topic
2. Reaching women checklist - how to deliver information to reach women who experience challenges accessing healthcare.
1. Lessons from delivering our resources through the NHS
3. Study report