The RCN Foundation is offering funding of up to £35,000 for a midwifery or nurse-led study exploring the barriers Black and Asian women face in receiving personalised maternity and neonatal care.

Royal Bolton Hospital has significantly reduced the number of premature babies requiring breathing tubes at birth after introducing a new approach to respiratory care in the delivery room.

Families can now explore the NICU at King’s College Hospital before visiting in person, using a new interactive 3D tour designed to familiarise them with the unit and help reduce anxiety.

Pippa Nightingale MBE has joined Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as chief executive, bringing more than 25 years of clinical and executive leadership experience and a background as a registered midwife.

Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital's neonatal unit has become the first in the North East to achieve Gold Bliss Baby Charter accreditation for its family-centred approach to neonatal care.

The government will appoint the UK's first maternity and neonatal commissioner and invest an additional £41m to improve the safety and consistency of maternity and neonatal care across England.

Three neonatal units have joined the Ickle Pickles Pledge, supporting a fundraising initiative that helps provide essential equipment for babies and their families.

A new Neonatal Virtual Ward at Royal Derby Hospital is enabling babies with jaundice to receive phototherapy treatment at home, helping families avoid unnecessary hospital stays.

A research study led by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has shown strong support for offering cervical screening earlier in the postnatal period. The PINCS-1 study is a clinical research trial investigating ways to improve cervical screening uptake for new mothers by offering tests earlier.

A Belfast Health and Social Care Trust nurse has been named RCN Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year 2026 in recognition of her outstanding work improving eye care for premature babies. Linda Hamilton and her team introduced a ‘zero-fail’ system to boost screening effectiveness.

Newly qualified midwives in England will have access to an extra 1,000 new roles by the end of 2026 after the Royal College of Midwives secured funding from the Government following a hard-fought campaign. The RCM has also secured a commitment from the Government on safe staffing talks.

Nine new machines are improving care for expectant and new mums who need continuous monitoring across maternity services at Basildon Hospital, part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. An upgrade of continuous monitoring equipment for expectant and new mums was made possible thanks to more than £40,000 donated by Mid and South Essex Hospitals Charity.