Wolverhampton gets its first equality and diversity specialist midwife

Sunita, who is Wolverhampton born and bred, has worked for the Trust for seven years and is now determined to identify where health inequalities lie with pregnant women.

She said: "Things like language barriers stop women from attending any parent education classes so I am aiming to introduce parent education classes in different languages in the most deprived areas of Wolverhampton.

"I will be doing the Punjabi ones myself using my own bilingual skills and then using interpreting services for the other most popular languages."

She added: "I will be raising awareness of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion within maternity services at the Trust and supporting the women that require additional support to help them navigate their way throughout their maternity journey, as well staff training on EDI.”

Her new role is bringing real job satisfaction to the 45-year-old.

She said: "My favourite thing is meeting new people and being able to help and support vulnerable women and their families.

"I find this part of my job really satisfying - to be able to support women at their most difficult times. Sometimes it's the little things that have the biggest impact on women, they feel cared for and supported.

"Some of the women I have looked after have been in unfortunate circumstances (such as fleeing domestic violence, homeless, or in financial difficulties). I enjoy going out of my way to find support for these women.

“I also love working with my colleagues who I consider to be my work family. It’s all about teamwork.”

She added: “There can be some challenges to this role too. The Trust has not had an EDI (equality and diversity) Lead Midwife before; I am literally the first Midwife to conduct EDI work there. EDI is a huge issue, there is lots of work to be done but I am looking forward to the challenges that the role will bring.”