Meet Sarah-Jayne, a research midwife from Medway
Sarah-Jayne is a research midwife from Medway who has thrown herself into a new national research programme which aims to sequence the whole genome of 100,000 newborn babies.
Medway Hospital is one of the latest hospitals to offer The Generation Study to prospective parents and is Sarah-Jayne’s first encounter with genomics.
“We’d heard other sites were doing it and our ears pricked up. We really wanted to be involved so when we got the invitation we leapt at the opportunity.”
Sarah-Jayne and her team of midwives, talk to women about the study explaining that a small amount of blood is taken from the umbilical cord at birth. That sample then undergoes screening for over 220 genetic conditions which if diagnosed early can either be treated or prevented. The babies’ whole genome data is then stored for research purposes.
“It’s such a huge piece of research and is open to so many women, so it’s exciting to be part of it.”
Sarah-Jayne has been leading the efforts at Medway Hospital, and they have already registered hundreds of women who are interested in taking part. Key to her success has been informing and involving staff from across the hospital.
“We hosted a Generation Ideas Day where anyone could come and share their thoughts and ideas. We had people from all levels and all parts of the hospital get involved. They gave us some amazing ideas about how to get both staff and patients on board.”
On launch day, the hospital was lit up pink in celebration, and the team have been busy spreading the word to anyone who will listen.
“Staff engagement is critical to our success and because the Study goes beyond maternity, we’ve worked hard to reach people including community colleagues, rare disease specialities and anyone who may come into contact with families during pregnancy.”
In their first month, they recruited 85 women, and the numbers keep climbing. Sarah-Jayne is also passionate about ensuring women from every community has the opportunity to be involved.
“As we learn more about genomics, it’s really evident that we need to involve people from all ethnicities. We need a rich diversity to ensure our research benefits everyone. This project goes way beyond babies!”
Looking to the future, Sarah-Jayne is excited about where genomics can take us.
“Maternity used to be a fairly isolated discipline. Thanks to genomics that’s changing, and I’m now working with people right across our hospital. The work we’re doing in the Generation Study will have an impact on my colleagues working in other areas when we either diagnose a child who needs treatment, or prevent them from needing care in the future.”
