Three midwifery teams in the West Midlands have been recognised for their work and innovation in maternity care.

They all emerged as runners-up after being shortlisted in the prestigious Royal College of Midwives Midwifery Awards, which took place on January 19 at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London.

The maternity unit at The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust was shortlisted for the Bounty Award for Promoting Normal Births,which focuses on initiatives taken to minimise intervention and promote normal birth for women and their babies.

Outpatient Services Matron Debra Hickman and her team were responsible for the Trust introducing its first qualified HypnoBirthing Midwifery practitioner in September 2009, with the service then becoming available to the women of Wolverhampton early in 2010.

HypnoBirthing is a method of birth preparation embraced by clinical staff and patients, with around 40 women having already accessed the programme through group sessions and one-to-ones.

The Trust said the main findings indicated that women feel in control of their labour and birth, therefore eliminating the need for analgesia and medical intervention.

Cathy Warwick, general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “This highlights the important, innovative and pioneering work being done by Debra Hickman and her team, and demonstrates the value of midwifery care.”

Also shortlisted in the Royal College of Midwives awards were Diane Menage and Helen Griffiths-Haynes, from Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust in Birmingham, for The Midwives for Young People Initiative.

The project, nominated for the Award for Excellence in Partnership Working, involves the provision of extra tailor-made midwifery support to young people under the age of 25, including teenagers.

Lin Gostling and colleagues from Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust were similarly recognised in the Philips Avent Award for Innovation in Midwifery after running a pilot reflexology clinic study for low-risk post mature pregnant women.