Dr. Castro, COMP Clinical Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology is pleased

to announce that she is hosting an internationally renowned professor on

women’s health and pregnancy complications from the United Kingdom. Dr.

Gwyneth Lewis is the Clinical Leader for Maternal Health and Maternity

Services, UK and also works for the World Health Organization. She will

be here from September 18-21, 2006. Her itinerary includes the following:

–Monday 9/18 Lunch at Western U-COMP with student members of WHIG,

NOWPA, AMWA, IMC.

–Wednesday 9/20 12 noon, lecture open to all members of the

Western University community, Western U campus, Amphitheatre

II. “”Prevention of Maternal Mortality-The United Kingdom Experience””.

Lecture objectives:

to gain an understanding of how 50 years of the UK Confidential

Enquiries into Maternal deaths has changed clinical and social maternity

practice in the UK.

to gain an understanding of how the UK obstetricians and midwives

in the NHS currently deliver free maternity care to all women, and the

new policies that are currently being introduced.

to understand the use and role of national clinical guidelines

and standardized protocols in delivering UK maternity care

–Thursday 9/21 12 noon, Grand Rounds/CME presentation at Arrowhead

Regional Medical Center. Oak Room

–Thursday 9/21 evening- Dinner/CME lecture for members of

Riverside/San Bernardino County OB/Gyn Society. Arrowhead Regional

Medical Center, Sequoia Room. 6:30-8pm social hour/dinner lecture.

–Friday 9/22 9-10:30am Review of OB cases with maternal morbidity

with Dr Castro and OB/Gyn residents. Also Arrowhead Regional Medical

Center, 6th floor, OB/Gyn conference room.

Short biosketch of Gwyneth Lewis MD, MPh, FFPMH, FRCOG:

Through her work as women’s health advisor in the Department of Health,

United Kingdom and latterly also for the World Health Organization, Dr

Gwyneth Lewis is already widely known and respected by the maternal

health community, both nationally and internationally. She has been a

consistent advocate for improving access to, and satisfaction with, high

quality, inclusive maternal health care services for the benefit of all

women, their babies and families. In particular, she is committed to

addressing the needs of the more vulnerable and excluded families, who

face poorer maternal and newborn health outcomes, to ensure that everyone

in England has a flying start to family life.

Dr. Lewis has extensive experience of policy development, having worked

in a number of key posts in the Department of Health over the past 20

years. For more than ten years, she has been actively involved in the

development of maternal health policy, latterly writing the Maternity

Standard of the National Service Framework for Children, Young people and

Maternity services. During this time she has also been the Director of

the UK Confidential Enquires into Maternal Deaths and a part time member

of the Making Pregnancy Safer team at WHO headquarters in Geneva.

As a consultant in public health medicine, Gwyneth has also sought to

emphasize and address the wider health aspects of pregnancy and

childbirth, in particular the impact of violence in the home and

perinatal mental illness on the health of the family. She is a firm

friend of both midwives and obstetricians as well has having very close

links with all other professionals and organizations who work towards

improving maternal health and social care.

Dr. Lewis trained at UCH and gained wide experience within the NHS before

choosing to work as a doctor in the Department of Health. Among her

higher qualifications, she is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health

Medicine and was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and

Gynaecologists in recognition of her work to improve maternity services

for women in the UK. She lectures, talks and writes extensively and has

authored or edited several books and articles on maternal health here and

for WHO. In conjunction with the British Council she has also recently co-

directed two films on maternal health world wide, which are now used

widely to advocate for the reduction of the 600,000 avoidable maternal

deaths which occur in the world each year.