Julie Woodman

Julie started her midwifery training in Portsmouth in 2000 and qualified in May 2003.  Her early career was based in the consultant led unit, mostly providing intrapartum care to women with complicated pregnancies, and later rotating onto the co-located midwifery unit to maintain and enhance her midwifery skills relating to uncomplicated birth, becoming the lead for safe water birth.   In 2013 she joined the practice education team which broadened her expertise in all areas of pregnancy complications.  Her focus gravitated towards developing the skills of midwives to work in the acute observation unit (AOU) where a gap in the knowledge of caring for sick women was identified amongst direct access midwives.   During this time, she redesigned the AOU observation chart to bring it in line with the RAG rated MEOWs chart.  

During her time in practice education, she successfully completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (Post-Compulsory Education) which enhanced her teaching skills.  

With the removal of Supervision of Midwives (SoM), Julie was involved in the work by NHS England to establish the new A-Equip model of supervision and became the lead professional midwifery advocate at PHUT, whilst working closely with governance to maintain her RCA (Route Cause Analysis) skills developed during her time as a SoM.  This included the compassionate investigation of clinical incidences locally, regionally and on occasion, further afield.  During this time period, she completed a graduate certificate in leadership and management in health and social care.  

Julie has a particular interest in ‘consent’ and is an ardent supporter of women making choices about their birth preferences, that may not always align with our national and local guidance. 

Julie was appointed as a consultant midwife at PHUT in 2019 and specialises in providing birth plans where care is requested ‘outside of guidance’.  She also holds a Breech and ECV clinic ensuring women have truly informed choice when it comes to birth options when their baby is in the breech presentation at term.