Dr. Ruth Oshikanlu, RN RM RSCPHN BSc PGDip PGDip MSc DUniv

Biography:

Dr. Ruth Oshikanlu MBE Ruth Oshikanlu is a multi-award winning nurse, midwife and health visitor. A nurse entrepreneur, consultant, leader and parenting expert, she is passionate about supporting vulnerable children and their families to reduce health inequalities and improve their life outcomes. Her previous roles include: HIV specialist midwife, Family Nurse at one of the first pilot sites of The Family Nurse Partnership intensive home visiting parenting programme for vulnerable families, and Nurse Leader of The Lewisham Young People’s Health and Wellbeing Service.

Ruth is a Pregnancy Mindset Expert and supports pregnant women who have had assisted conception or previous pregnancy loss. She is the author of Tune In To Your Baby: Because Babies Don’t Come with An Instruction Manual.

Ruth is a Queen’s Nurse, Fellow of The Institute of Health Visiting, Royal College of Nursing and The Royal Society of Arts. She is the recipient of several national healthcare and business awards; a regular columnist and has published several feature articles in numerous national nursing and healthcare journals.

Ruth was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Year 2019 Honours List for being an Ambassador for the Health Visiting Profession and for services to Community Nursing, Children and Families. She is a Churchill Fellow and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from London South Bank University in November 2019.

Abstract: Creating Calm: Effective Strategies for Reducing Stress and Anxiety During Pregnancy

Anxiety and stress in pregnancy are risk factors for adverse outcomes for mothers, babies and their families. Anxiety in pregnancy is associated with shorter gestation and has adverse implications for foetal neurodevelopment and child outcomes. There are numerous factors associated with stress and anxiety in pregnancy.

Midwives and other healthcare professionals providing care for pregnant women play a key role in identifying and supporting women through stressful pregnancy experiences and in raising awareness of the importance of managing stress and anxiety in pregnancy.

Healthcare professionals providing antenatal care should understand the concept and significance of perinatal stress and anxiety, the implications for the mother and her foetus, how to address it clinically, further investigating effects of clinically significant affective disturbances on maternal and child outcomes, considering a mother's broad socio-economic, cultural, spiritual and environmental context. They should have knowledge of evidence-based tools and strategies that help with stress reduction in pregnancy, working in partnership with women, their families and other professionals involved in their care, for optimal pregnancy outcomes.