The Perinatal Optimisation Team
Further reading
The Perinatal Optimisation Team includes all those who input into the care of pregnant women, their families and their babies to ensure best outcomes. It is not simply a group of service Obstetricians, Midwives and Neonatologists/Paediatricians, although the Building Successful Teams resource has a focus on building strong relationships and shared goals between these particular professional groups.
Parents as team members
Parents are an overlooked and yet essential component of our Perinatal Optimisation Team. They should not be seen as mere patients nor ever visitors but as integral team members who too are invested in their health and that of their baby33. Achievement of Perinatal Optimisation measures depends crucially on parental understanding of both the risk of preterm birth and the benefits of timely intervention, but also on the development of a reciprocal relationship of trust, respect and compassion between parents and clinicians at every point of the Perinatal Optimisation Pathway. Importantly after birth, strong parental partnership in their baby’s care and throughout their neonatal stay may result in better long-term developmental outcomes. Co-designing guidance, pathways and services with parents also brings a unique and critical perspective and helps to create solutions best suited to the population we serve.
Outside of hospital
The Perinatal Optimisation Team extends outside hospital boundaries to include primary care groups, teams within other units who receive or refer women at risk of preterm birth, and transport services. Relationships which demonstrate compassion, flexibility and high levels of reciprocal communication are essential in orchestrating the early and appropriate presentation of women to the most appropriate facility for her care and that of her baby.
Junior staff and trainees
Within hospitals, junior staff and trainees must also be supported to reliably deliver the high quality of care that is required. Teams that empower, train and educate trainees and junior staff within a supportive environment are more effective and will understand best how to bring about change within their specific context to achieve their goals. Through nurturing and modelling our behaviours, we are growing the perinatal leaders of the future.
Wider team members
There are a large number of other groups who contribute to improving perinatal outcomes through the prediction of preterm birth (eg sonographers), in improving patient pathways (eg triage, clinic and ambulance staff), through preparation of the fetus (eg pharmacists), in ensuring the optimal environment for birth and beyond (eg theatre staff, domestic staff, health care assistants), in the complex task of initiating and establishing lactation (eg infant feeding advisers, nursery nurses, maternity care assistants, peer support workers) and in the support of the parents throughout their journey (primary care teams, psychology and psychiatry services). All require recognition of their value, inclusion in the shared work, and encouragement to help shape the service as one single perinatal team with a unified shared vision.