Cards displayed on the ward, chocolates in the common room… but there is an increasing trend to use Facebook as a collective noticeboard to proclaim gratitude. Showing Thanks is a recently established webpage for conveying gratitude to healthcare professionals involved in maternity care and childbirth. Mothers have been posting their stories on this Facebook site and then Rachel Ellie Gardner has taken it upon herself to let healthcare trusts know when a member of their staff has been thanked.
Anecdotally, we know that staff involved in obstetrics get a lot of gratitude. Even if a birth has been dramatic (and, let’s face it, most births have elements of trauma), the outcome is usually happy.