On Tuesday 1 March Beat SCAD exhibited live for the first time in over two years. And it wasn’t just Covid that we had to negotiate but a tube strike as well!
Trustee Sarah Coombes and volunteer Charlotte Pearl (pictured ) staffed the Beat SCAD stand at the London Maternity and Midwifery Festival at the Royal National Hotel in London.
Although the tube strike meant a smaller than expected audience on the day, Charlotte and Sarah spoke to about 40 delegates in depth. Some had heard of SCAD but others had not. Our leaflets and pregnancy-related SCAD (P-SCAD) case studies were snapped up. Many attendees stood talking with us for a long time asking many questions and saying they would share the information they had learned with their colleagues.
Beat SCAD also spoke with the editor of The Student Midwife Journal and we are working on a ‘special report’ about SCAD for student midwives, which we expect will be included in the edition published in the first quarter of 2023. Work like this complements the inclusion of SCAD in the Myles Midwifery Textbook and the NHS Mum and Baby App.
Dr Al-Hussaini, consultant cardiologist who specialises in SCAD, pre-recorded a ‘meet the expert’ session and this was viewed by delegates during their lunch break. She provided an outline of what SCAD is and how we believe it is under-diagnosed in pregnant and recently pregnant women. She discussed warning signs for SCAD in pregnancy and the post-partum period – in particular what symptoms should raise the alarm and what midwives should do if they suspect SCAD.
All presentations have been made available to both live and virtual attendees in a ‘box set’ for future review, so Beat SCAD’s information will reach an even wider audience in the months ahead.
Beat SCAD would like to thank Dr Al-Hussaini for her contribution to the event and Charlotte for spending the day with Sarah and raising awareness of SCAD with great enthusiasm and expert knowledge.
We were pleased to hear that in the delegate evaluations completed by those attending the event in person, there were 39 mentions of Beat SCAD with positive comments about the work we do.
We look forward to more opportunities to raise awareness of P-SCAD in the maternity sector.
