It’s a Zara Jacket for Midwife Interview & The Cambridges’ New YouTube Channel

The Duchess of Cambridge was in a new Zara jacket for an interview with community Nurse Midwife Harriet Nayiga.

The Duchess spoke with Ms. Nayiga about her role as a Nurse Midwife and as the founder of MILCOT (Midwife-led Community Transformation), a community organization offering support advice for vulnerable women and girls in Nansana, Uganda.

Kensington Palace notes that “Nurses and midwives form the backbone of health care delivery in Uganda, making up 75% of the public health care workforce. They are usually the first point of contact for patients, especially in hard-to-reach areas where healthcare resources can be scarce.” 

The interview was done in March and published in Nursing Times today.  It was released today, timed to coincide with International Day of the Midwife, which is observed today.

From the magazine: 

HRH: In Uganda, do most women have their children at home or do they go to hospitals as a matter of routine?

HN: We do not have accredited home births but, because of a lack of resources, you find many women accidentally delivering at home and others on the way to hospital because of the long distance involved. Others have traditional birth attendants who enter someone’s house to help a woman deliver. We keep stressing that it is really dangerous.

These are the populations who face grave discrimination, so they tend to go to the hospital late, after complications have already emerged. I felt that I had to come and bridge this gap before the women reached me with serious complications.

More from this Hello story by Danielle Stacey:

Kate conducted the special interview in her role as patron of Nursing Now, a three year global campaign to raise the status and profile of nursing, which she launched at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in February 2018, when she was pregnant with Prince Louis. 

It’s a campaign close to her heart as the Duchess’ great-grandmother and grandmother were both volunteer nurses.

The interview also marks the end of the three-year Nursing Now campaign, which the Duchess helped launch in February 2018.

Nursing Now aimed to improve health around the world by raising the profile and status of nursing. The Duchess was royal patron of the Nursing Now endeavor.  You may recall a video from last May with members of the Royal Family honoring International Nurses Day. 

The Duchess and Countess of Wessex marked the day by video calling nurses in seven different Commonwealth countries to thank them for their work during the pandemic.

Accomplishments attributed to the Nursing Now campaign include: 

• 64 Nursing Now groups have reported increased investment in nursing.
• More than 31,000 young professionals have signed up for Nursing Now’s Nightingale Challenge.  (The goal: “equip and empower the next generation of nurses and midwives as leaders, practitioners, and advocates in health.”)
• Increased number of nurses in leadership positions, as Chief Nursing Officers and on boards.  

On May 24, thousands of nurses will gather online to share stories from the Nursing Now campaign while also looking at “the beginning of a new chapter for nursing,” per this story in Nursing Times.  The 2021 theme for International Nurses Day is Nurses: A Voice to Lead – A vision for future healthcare. 

Now for our look at what Kate wore for her interview with Harriet Nayiga.

She appeared to be wearing Zara’s Tailored Double-Breasted Blazer ($89.90) in a color called cobalt. The jacket is made of a poly/viscose blend with a touch of elastane for stretch and lined in acetate. It features peaked lapels, two flap pockets and a jetted (welt) pocket at the chest.  It also showcases goldtone metal buttons at the cuffs and front.

Many thanks to Heaven for her speedy ID of the jacket.  The Duchess brought back her Chain Huggie Hoop Earrings ($22) by Orelia London.   

A quick side note: ASOS is offering the Orelia Huggie Hoop earring in gold with crystal diamante embellishment for a dressier look, priced at $35.   

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Also today, news of a new YouTube channel for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

There is a “Welcome to our YouTube Channel” message and a fun 25-second video with clips of events over the years.  At the beginning of the video you see Prince William saying, “Be careful what you say now, because these guys, they’re filming everything,” to which the Duchess laughs and says, “I know!”

Here is that quick video. 

 

LINKAGE: 

• Read the full interview with Harriet Nayiga in Nursing Times here; read a piece on the accomplishments of Nursing Now in this Nursing Times column. 
• Read about Nursing Now at the campaign’s site here; a Facebook page is here; the Twitter feed is here.