2 December 2009
A team of midwives who care for pregnant teenagers at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust has been shortlisted for a national award.
The 'teenage team', which is made up of midwives Colleen Robinson and Sue Sasse, were nominated for the prestigious Royal College of Midwives' 'Team of the year' award and are now through to the final.
The annual Royal College of Midwives' awards are judged by a team of childbirth experts, including staff from the National Childbirth Trust.
Speaking about why the team were nominated and what makes their service so special, Sue said: "We're a friendly and welcoming team and we never judge the people that we care for. The young women that we see know that we're always here for them and that they can ask us anything.
"We know that discovering you're pregnant when you're a teenager can be very daunting so it's important that these young women have someone that they can trust who can answer all of their questions.
"We're also a very accessible team, and we try to make it really easy to get in touch with us – a lot of the girls just send us a text if something's bothering them."
The 'teenage team' run a weekly session from Muschamp Children's Centre in Carshalton, where young mums-to-be and their partners can come – not only to get advice from the midwives, but to also access advice and support from the youth counselling service, Connexions.
Colleen said: "Teenage girls that fall pregnant are very vulnerable. They risk being excluded by their friends and giving up on an education, so it's important that they get the help and support they need as soon as they can.
"The good thing about running the teenage sessions from the children's centre is that the young women and their boyfriends or partners can get to the advice and support of a wide range of professionals.
"They need to know that they can come to us for help and advice without being judged and without people staring at them. And that's exactly what they get from our service at the centre."
Head of midwifery, Sally Sivas said: "Everyone working in the maternity unit is really proud of Colleen and Sue for getting through to the final round. The service they provide to young mums-to-be is absolutely vital and being shortlisted for a national award just proves that. We can't wait to see how they get on."
Sue and Colleen will find out if they've been successful in the awards at a ceremony in the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington in January.
