RCN Birmingham West and Sandwell learning event: Maternal health and mortality, plus women's health
13 Mar 2026, 11:00 - 13:00
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This learning event, which is being held to mark Women's History Month, will explore maternal mortality in the UK. There will also be a session on women's health.
Maternal health and mortality - the silent crisis
Maternal mortality in the UK remains a critical and urgent issue that demands attention now more than ever.
Although the UK is a high-income country with an advanced health care system, women continue to die during pregnancy and up to a year after birth from largely preventable causes. Recent national reviews repeatedly show that many of these deaths could have been avoided with earlier recognition of risk, better communication, timely escalation, and more coordinated care.
This session will focus on the topic of maternal mortality and inequalities and current trends in women's health. Your speaker, Elsie Gayle, is a midwife in private practice in the United Kingdom who has spent many years working alongside women through pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period - across the NHS, in community settings, and in private practice.
Elsie's focus has always been on evidence-informed, culturally safe care that keeps families at the centre, and her experiences led her to establish Mimosa Midwives, a collective of experienced midwives providing continuity-of-care that complements and strengthens NHS maternity services, helping women to choose services which are safe for them to use.
She serves as Lead Governor to Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and is a member of the International Civil Society Working Group to the United Nations Permanent Forum for People of African Descent which was inaugurated in Geneva, December 2022.
Women’s health through the lens of lifestyle medicine - translating evidence into practice
This session, presented by Florentina Tutuianu (a registered nurse and health coach) will focus on lifestyle medicine and preventive healthcare. Florentina's clinical experience has shaped her interest in addressing upstream drivers of chronic disease, particularly within women’s health and cardiometabolic risk management.
She advocates for integrating structured lifestyle interventions into routine nursing practice and believes prevention should be foundational to modern healthcare delivery. Her work highlights the role of nurses in early identification of risk and evidence-based behavioural support.
Book your place now
This a hybrid event, which means you can either attend in person at the Education Centre at Midland Metropolitan University Hospital or join online via Microsoft Teams.
To register your attendance, please book your place here. Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email which will include the link to join the Microsoft Teams meeting on the day if you want to attend virtually.
You will need to log-in to your RCN account before booking. If you don't have an RCN account, it's a really simple process to create one - just follow the steps provided.
PLEASE NOTE - there will be no branch meeting during this event.
Lecture Theatre, Education Centre, Level 5
Midland Metropolitan University Hospital
Grove Lane
Smethwick
Birmingham
B66 2QT
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Page last updated - 12/02/2026
