Helen Edgar

Working self-employed for the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), I use my group facilitation and adult-learning skills to facilitate sessions with expectant parents, new parents in the postnatal period and parents who are looking to move onto solid food with their infant.

Before all courses start, I have to make effective course plans to meet the needs of the parents, contacting them to ensure all their needs are met if they have any disability, access needs or specific health or medical conditions which may impact their participation or content for the course.

During antenatal and postnatal sessions, I implement innovative ice-breaker activities to allow bonding between individuals and couples who may not have known each other before the sessions start. This is important for effective teamwork and allows expectant parents to make friendship bonds with others who will be available to support them throughout the perinatal period. During sessions, I need to foster an inclusive and anti-oppressive atmosphere as I work with heterosexual, gay and lesbian couples, and also those who attend sessions either as a solo parent or on their own if their birth partner is unable to come. This inclusive and safe space allows parents to be themselves and not make them feel judged.

Promoting active learning is crucial to my role; parents need to feel they are learning at their own rate and in their own way, so allowing them to share their experiences and previous knowledge not only enhances the sessions, it allows them to feel included and valued in their contributions. Facilitated discussions are a large part of the sessions, as every parent comes to the sessions knowing something about the topics we will cover, as an email is sent before each session outlining what we will cover and providing some reading, should they wish. Previous knowledge also allows me to myth-bust things parents have heard from others, old-wives tales and misinformation they may have received online. It is important for parents to feel valued in their input while not feeling pressured to join in; therefore, I check in with quiet members to ensure they are involved and understand the tasks, as some people can be shy or nervous in such a large group.

I always encourage constructive feedback from parents mid-way through the course and at the end to ensure their needs are met and the sessions are facilitated using learning styles which meet the ways in which they learn. I have to reflect in and on action during my practice, as situations may occur which I have not planned for, and also I need to be mindful of my own triggers around childbirth and parenting to create a non-biased teaching environment and not let my own experience influence the learning of others.

My practice is evidence-based in order to provide a non-biased and effective way of empowering parents to make informed decisions around their antenatal care and postnatal journey. I enjoy covering antenatal topics to prepare for labour and birth, and I also enjoy postnatal topics where we cover baby care, parental expectations, conflict and perinatal mental health conditions, as I feel it is important for parents to be equipped with all the information while on their journey.

Having a good knowledge of local policies, procedures and availability of community resources is crucial to the success of the courses, allowing parents to be equipped with local knowledge of what to expect at their chosen birthing location. In addition, knowledge of support groups and activities to enhance their parental journey is an effective way to signpost and support parents in their journey.

Facilitation with parents sometimes comes with conflict, so being aware of the nature of the group and any issues which may arise is important, along with dealing with any parent/facilitator issues before they become a problem. Teaching styles can be changed and adapted along with course content if needed, along with monitoring of group dynamics and smaller group work to ensure all voices are heard. This requires good organisation, and a diverse range of teaching materials including handouts, props, information sheets and hands-on practical tasks, all of which are designed and facilitated by me.

Time-keeping is very important to this role as sessions have a time limit and parents attend sessions in the evenings after work when they can be tired and may also have pregnancy-related ailments. It is therefore crucial to be on time and keep the sessions moving at a good, manageable pace. The sessions can involve up to eighteen people, which sometimes makes it hard to cover all content, being aware of how everyone is feeling, the pace of the session and including everyone's voice requires good awareness and expertise.

The sessions are held face-to-face; however, some sessions do take place online due to health issues or venue availability. Therefore sessions sometimes need to be moved online, which means adapting resources and course plans to effectively deliver online at short notice.

All sessions are fully confidential to enable parents to share their hopes, knowledge and experience in a safe and supportive environment. This fosters a sense of belonging to a group, and any correspondence shared via email or WhatsApp groups is treated with strict confidentiality.

After being made redundant from Endsleigh Insurance I took some time away from employment to look after my 6 year old daughter and 2 year old son. I enjoyed the time we spent at home together and value the experiences I was able to share with them during this time.

Working as a motor insurance claims handler taught me how to effectively balance a caseload which I was personally responsible for, while delivering an effective telephone service to both customers and suppliers to achieve timely and cost-effective claims settlements. Each case would need to be handled with confidentiality, ensuring each customer was treated fairly and that decisions were made regarding repairs or the writing-off of a vehicle inline with underwriters guidelines.

Conflict resolution featured in this role as customers were heightened emotionally during times of stress when they were without a vehicle or felt their were financially worse-off than they were before the accident, or were not liable for the incidents which had occurred. Keeping a calm telephone manner was crucial to effective claims handling and ensuring fair and reliable outcomes for customers.

This job involved a lot of team work and working with suppliers, repairers and insurance underwriters, so a balance was needed through effective planning, organisation and communication when resolving claims.