#RCMConf17

Last week was the Royal College of Midwives 2017 conference for both midwives and student midwives. Held in Manchester the conference was over two days with a range of fantastic speakers and exhibitors.
I originally booked my space when the conference was announced through RCM Magazine 'Midwives' and couldn't believe how fast tickets went - well, it was the first year that the conference was FREE!
From my previous conference experience at MAMA conference 2017, I had such an amazing, interactive, interesting time, met some idols, and heard speakers on topics which made me think about how I develop my practice  - I knew the RCM Conference would be one not to miss!

Since getting involved with Sheena and Anna Byrom on All4Maternity and becoming editor of the up and coming supplement to The Practising Midwife  - 'The Future Midwife' (for aspiring and future midwives) I was also attending the conference for the LAUNCH of All4Maternity.

Conferences outwith Scotland tend to take up more time travelling but this year with the conference being in Manchester I was able to fly direct and stay with my sister who lives in Manchester!
Heading to conference alone was also particularly nerve wracking but I knew I'd be meeting people at the conference so was excited too.


Day One - What a day! I attended nearly all the Student Conference events that were running concurrent to the Main conference programme. It was so well organised and the speakers were intuitive to us as students and future midwives. I especially enjoyed the talks on 'Are you naturally resilient?' and 'The Three Years are coming to an end..what now?' - definitely beneficial to myself as a third year future midwife!
I also had the opportunity to attend a fringe session on Perinatal Mental Health, which has been a passion of mine, as I've just completed an assignment on the topic in regards to public health. It was interesting but it made me realise that when the speakers were not midwives or in maternity care, sometimes they just spoke about their research - rather than discussing the issue and how it can be addressed in maternity care; which was what I was hoping to get from it.
Finally I met and spent some time with the wonderful Sheena and Anna Byrom at the All4Maternity.com exhibitor stand. It was so much fun - and so exciting to meet two midwifery idols of mine, Sheena and Anna have influenced my interest in midwife, from before I became a student, by reading their work (especially Roar Against The Silence). So to be part of this team was something like a dream to me! The passion from these midwives and the others in the editorial and #InItTogether team made me feel proud to be entering into a profession dedicated to Sharing, Learning and Caring, for everyone.
I also got to meet fellow blogger and tweeter and RCM student rep Charlene Cole, who is also one of the editors of the Future Midwife Journal. Social media can really bring people together!

Day Two - I did not attend the conference party, but heard how great it was from others! Day two was spent catching up with fellow Scottish Midwives and one of my University lecturer's. I got to attend the programme for the Main Conference. The RCM decided to run the student and main programme concurrently over both days and this really benefited me as a student as I got to attend all the student conference then the main conference the next day. Hearing from midwives on developing students learning and attending more talks on PNMH had my brain full of ideas by the end of the day. I also managed to head along to the student discussion on media; where I met Hana Pauls from OBEM, and gave me a new spin on the tv show and how women and midwives are represented in media. The final speaker at the conference was poet Hollie McNish who read some of her poetry and prose based on her pregnancy, birth and life as a new mother (you may be familiar with her poem on Breastfeeding in a public toilet). This was an amazing end of the day.
Again I spent time with All4Maternity community and met some other twitter buddies! (Finally the third editor of Future Midwife Journal Ali Brindle - who won the 90 sec idea on day 2, #zeroseparation follow the hashtag on twitter!)

Overall the amount of information from the conference that I gained was invaluable in regards to the student conference, and added to my areas of interest from the main conference. I also managed to walk away with 10+ pens and lots of freebies (which is kinda what it's all about).
I think the conference being free was a good move by the RCM and organisers, especially for students as sometimes conferences can seen as inaccessible and only available for registered midwives or researchers. The speakers perhaps need to be looked at as some were promoting products/research and not sharing best practice or creating debate about policy and practice which I thought the conference would involve.


An invaluable experience. But now I'm really looking forward to MAMA Conference 2018 in Glasgow!

Ruth x
twitter: @ruth_stmw

Off to student conference sessions!

Look at these amazing lights!

With the all4maternity team!

Myself, Hannah Tizard and Anna Byrom

all4maternity twitter buddies

Me and Hana Pauls from OBEM