Sarah Wise is the Consultant Midwife for Teenage Pregnancy & Sexual Health and she is supported by the Teenage Pregnancy Link midwives, on the four midwifery teams, providing continuity of care for the very young women and their families. This care is provided both antenatally and in the post natal period, with follow up support in relation to contraception and sexual health advice from the Consultant Midwife.

There is a risk assessment and referral system in place to identify those young mothers who may require extra support because they have specific problems/needs and the Consultant Midwife becomes more involved in providing the care to meet these needs on an individual basis.

There is a specific Teenage Parenting group delivered by the Teenage Pregnancy Link Midwives which is very informal and focuses on labour and pain relief options and a tour of the department including viewing the water-birth pool facility, in preparation for delivery. This is an well-attended group and gives opportunity for the young mothers to meet others in a similar situation to themselves partners are welcomed and encouraged to participate in preparation for delivery.

The Consultant Midwife works as part of a team providing the local ‘Choices’ sessions. These are sexual health clinics for young people providing an integrated approach to care. She is available to offer extra support to young women who may have complex needs or particular worries about their sexual health and pregnancy. She is able to see young women attending for advice about suspected pregnancy, confirm the pregnancy and discuss the future options available to them and then follow these young women through whichever choice they make.

The Consultant Midwife also visits the nurse led Pregnancy Advisory clinic where the girls choosing termination attend and she discusses future contraception methods whilst the clients are undergoing the procedure and they are provided with some form of contraception on discharge, including provision of the contraceptive inplant which the Consultant Midwife will insert. She then sees them at the follow up appointment to ensure all is well with the chosen method and encourages them to access the other services that are available in the local community to prevent repetition of the same situation in the future.

The Consultant Midwife works in partnership with other local agencies with a remit for young people such as the Connexions services, Youth Service and Housing Authorities. Ensuring that the individual needs of the young people in her care are met.