Shawn Walker, RM, PhD

Biography:

Shawn Walker, RM, PhD is a Consultant Midwife at The Royal London Hospital, and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London. Her work focuses on improving safety outcomes and patient-centred perinatal care. In a recently completed NIHR Advanced Fellowship, she conducted pilot work for the OptiBreech Trial, a multi-centre feasibility study of a new care pathway for women pregnant with a breech-presenting baby at term (https://optibreech.uk).

Abstract: Changing the Story of Breech Birth: Evidence, Skill, and Safer Care

OptiBreech Collaborative Care is an evidence-based, multi-disciplinary model of care for women and other birthing people pregnant with a breech presenting baby at term. It has been co-developed with clinicians actively involved in breech services, including vaginal breech births, and the families who have depended on these services. This keynote talk will explain how evidence has directly impacted clinical practice, and the improved clinical outcomes and choice we are seeing as a result.
The OptiBreech model of care is currently being implemented across the largest NHS Trust in London, which sees 15,000 births per year across three urban hospitals. In OptiBreech clinics, more women access holistic care that meets their individual needs and life values. The choice of vaginal breech birth is further supported by experienced teams. Safety is maintained through use of a flowchart derived from video evidence and tested in real-world settings. Novices are taught the most effective strategies, that have been shown to work most quickly and most reliably, for when breech presentations appear unexpectedly in labour.
This talk will expose learners to the research but focus on how it is applied in practice.