Midwife honoured for safeguarding mother and children from abuse

A midwife at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) has been recognised with a DAISY Award after her compassionate and decisive actions enabled a mother and her children facing a long‑term domestic abuse.

The DAISY Award celebrates extraordinary nurses and midwives who demonstrate exceptional clinical skill and compassionate care. The award follows the midwife’s swift response after an extremely vulnerable woman made a significant disclosure of long-term domestic abuse during her shift.

She sensitively created a safe moment for the woman to disclose her concerns, and immediately sought support from OUH’s maternity safeguarding team, triggering a coordinated multi‑agency response that ensured the family could access emergency protection and safe accommodation.

Domestic abuse can be known to intensify during pregnancy, with up to 30% of those women experiencing physical violence and many more facing emotional, financial, or sexual abuse. Pregnancy is a particularly high‑risk period, and OUH teams are trained to recognise early warning signs and provide trauma‑informed care throughout pregnancy and after birth.

Within the Trust, specialist safeguarding midwives and an embedded Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) work closely with maternity staff to assess risk, create individual safety plans, and liaise with partners across health, social care, the police and community services. Last year alone, the maternity safeguarding team supported around 450 families affected by domestic abuse.

The DAISY honouree said: "I'm incredibly honoured to receive this award, but the real achievement is that the mother felt safe enough to speak. Our role is never just clinical; we are there to listen, to notice when something doesn’t feel right, and to act quickly. I'm a small part of an immensely professional and caring team. I’m proud of how our maternity safeguarding team came together to support her and her children when they needed it most."

Sara Goves, Head of Maternity and Neonatal Safeguarding at OUH, said: "This DAISY Award reflects the outstanding professionalism and empathy shown by our midwives every day. At OUH, all our midwives receive regular training to help them recognise early signs of domestic abuse, understand the dynamics of coercive control, and create safe opportunities for disclosure.

"Our maternity safeguarding team provides specialist expertise, working closely with midwives to deliver detailed risk assessments, personalised safety planning and coordinated multi‑agency support. The actions taken in this case exemplify how effective safeguarding can protect women and babies at a time of immense vulnerability. We are incredibly proud of our midwife for her swift response and her unwavering commitment to trauma‑informed care."

Milica Redfearn, Director of Midwifery at OUH, said: "Congratulations to our midwife for this amazing achievement. This is an incredible example of compassionate excellent care our midwives provide. OUH continues to strengthen its maternity safeguarding pathways to ensure that every woman, regardless of background or circumstance, has access to confidential, expert support throughout pregnancy and beyond."

Yvonne Christley, Chief Nursing Officer at OUH, said: "I commend our midwife for the important contribution she has made to patient care, which has already had a meaningful impact on a particularly vulnerable family. This award is an incredible example of the compassion shown by OUH maternity colleagues towards the service users. As demonstrated here, their commitment to improving patient experience often goes above and beyond the care we provide within our hospitals."

Find out more about DAISY Awards or make your own nomination on our DAISY webpage.