An Oxford midwife has been honoured with a prestigious DAISY Award for her quick-thinking actions.
The DAISY Award celebrates extraordinary nurses and midwives who demonstrate exceptional clinical skill and compassionate care.
The recognition follows the midwife supporting a mother and her children after a disclosure of long-term domestic abuse during her shift at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH).
Responding with compassion and professionalism, she called on the support of OUH’s maternity safeguarding team, which triggered a coordinated multi-agency response that ensured the family could access emergency protection and safe accommodation.
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The midwife 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."
Domestic abuse can be known to intensify during pregnancy, with up to 30 per cent 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.
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."
Last year, OUH’s maternity safeguarding team supported around 450 families affected by domestic abuse.
The trust has specialist safeguarding midwives and an embedded Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) working across its maternity services.
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."
More information on the DAISY Awards and how to submit a nomination is available via the OUH website.
