Our Chair 2022/23: Kate Jones
Kate Jones, a mother-of-two from Windermere, is also a perinatal yoga teacher and has trained as a doula and in hypno-birthing.
On taking over the role in summer 2021, she said that she wants to increase awareness of the MVP and grow engagement from service users and families.
“I first heard about the MVP when pregnant with my son during the pandemic. As a service user with a special interest in pregnancy and birth, I was concerned about how my choices - and those of my peers - were being affected by COVID-19 restrictions and wanted to know what I could do.
“I made contact with our wonderful former chair, Becky, and benefited from the support and advice she offered. I learned how my voice could really make a difference and was supported in a wonderful home birth, facilitated by the hard work and dedication of our local midwives.
“My passion for maternity work grows stronger by the day and I believe that the voice of a service user is invaluable in order to ensure our maternity services are, first and foremost, centred around birthing people.”
Get involved
If you have recently used maternity services or would like to contribute and be involved, whether that is in person or virtually then please contact Kate Jones by e-mail: baywideMVPchair@gmail.com. You can attend a meeting, sign up to our mailing list, or simply just provide your feedback.
You can also find us on Facebook at facebook.com/baywidemvp and Morecambe Bay Maternity Voices public group, on Twitter @BayVoices or on Instagram @baywideMVP.
Meetings and events
Typically, the MVP meets every two months. During the pandemic, face-to-face meetings were halted – the hope is we can start to resume in-person meetings as restrictions continue to be lifted.
Previously, we have held events in child friendly locations to encourage families to come along and give feedback. We are working hard to make sure that we reach people who may not have previously had the chance to have their say.