Privacy Notice

At My Online Midwife, we understand that service user privacy is a priority, and that they care deeply about how their personal information is handled. We also value and respect their privacy. This Privacy Notice outlines how we collect, use, and protect the service users’ personal information when interacting with our digital midwifery services. By using our services, the service user agrees to the practices described in this notice.

Introduction

Our Midwives Live Chat service and digital content is operated by My Online Midwife (“My Online Midwife”, “we”, “us”, “our”). For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, we are the data controller.

By using our services and/or digital content, the service user consents to the collection and use of their information as described in this Privacy Notice.

We reserve the right to update and modify this Privacy Notice periodically. Any changes will apply to future transactions and usage. It is the responsibility of the service user to review and ensure that they understand and agree to the current Privacy Notice before using our services or accessing our information.

What is Personal Data/Information?

Personal data is defined by the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 (“the Data Protection Legislation”) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier’.

Personal data is any information about the service user that enables them to be identified. Personal data covers obvious information such as their name and contact details but it also covers less obvious information such as identification numbers, electronic location data and other online identifiers.

Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of information when using our services:

Personal Information: This includes name, email address, phone number, and any other details the service user provides when registering for our services or contacting us for support.
Health Information: As part of our midwifery services, the service user may share sensitive health information with us, such as details about a pregnancy, health conditions, medical history, symptoms, test results, and other relevant health data. We take extra care to protect this sensitive information.
Communications: Any messages or inquiries sent to us, including feedback, concerns, or questions.
Usage Data: Information about service user interactions with our website or digital content, such as browsing activity, downloads, and the resources they access.
Surveys: Occasionally, we may ask for participation in surveys for analysis and to improve our services. Participation is voluntary.

We may not be able to provide service users with certain services if they choose to withhold important information that we request. Consent can be withdrawn at any time by turning off location services or by hiding the IP address.

How We Use Service User Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

To provide and enhance our midwifery services
To communicate regarding appointments, health updates, and general enquiries
To recommend personalised content and resources
To improve our website and services based on service user usage and feedback
To comply with legal obligations and protect our rights
To comply with regulatory bodies, such as the Care Quality Commission
When auditing or downloading data from the live chat
When analysing our service user demographics
To allow selected third parties (our partners) to send direct information, of their own products and/or services

Service users may at any time instruct us and/or our partners to not contact them with marketing information or to share their details with our partners, either when information is collected or by following the unsubscribe instructions on any communications sent to them. Service users may also exercise this right at any time by contacting us at enquiries@myonlinemidwife.com.

Sharing Service User Information

We respect service user’s privacy and do not sell or rent any personal data. However, we may share their information with trusted third-party service providers that help us deliver our services, such as:

Medical professionals or organisations (with service user consent, if applicable)
Payment processors (if applicable for billing purposes)
Website hosting and data storage providers

We will only share service user information if necessary to provide our services, comply with legal requirements, or to protect their safety and well-being.

Service User Data

All information given to or obtained by My Online Midwife will be treated as confidential.

All personal health data on secure servers located in the EU. Where the service user has chosen a password-enabled access, they are responsible for keeping this password confidential.

Records of the transcripts of the live chats will be maintained and stored for clinical governance purposes, in accordance with practice and data processing requirements. Any personal and/or identifiable information will be treated as strictly confidential and will not be disclosed without the service user’s express permission, except under special circumstances, for example to comply with legal or safeguarding obligations.

We may encourage the service user to inform their primary or secondary care provider(s) of any health concerns, have but we will not share information without expressed permission unless there is an overruling public interest in sharing information without consent.

To ensure that we can provide service users with quality, safe, evidenced based care and advice, information will be shared within the My Online Midwife clinical team or supporting staff where necessary. There are some circumstances in which we are legally required to make disclosures, if the service user or others are at risk of death or serious harm. To maximise the provision of safe care we recommend disclosure of all information, to clearly inform the clinical picture.

Data Security

We take the security of the service user’s personal data very seriously and implement various technical and organisational measures to safeguard it against unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. However, no system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the absolute security of all data.

Additional Information

When visiting the live chat service, our platform may automatically collect technical information, such as, but not limited to, the address used to connect user devices to the internet, login information, system and operating system type and version, time zone setting, operating system and platform, user location, the pages they view or have viewed, website and live chat response times and interaction information. Service users cannot be identified from this information, and it is only used when using data analysis to provide an effective service.

Use of Cookies

Partner websites might also use cookies or other technology to collect information about the service user’s access to their website.

Cookies are small blocks of data, used to capture a unique reference code that a website transfers to the service user’s device to store and sometimes track information about them. Many of these cookies only for the duration of the web session and expire when the browser is closed. Some other cookies are used to remember the service user when they return to the website and can remain until manually cleared.

Cookies are useful for:

Remembering that the service user has accessed the website, and/or live chat, before
Allows the service user to navigate the website in an easier and more timely manner
Recognise if a service user is registered or not
Stores service users’ preferences
Customise elements of the layout and/or content of the website for service users
Analyses information about how the service user uses the website or live chat, to improve functionality

Service users can also learn more about cookies by visiting www.allaboutcookies.org and learn how to block cookies if users wish. Blocking or removing cookies might disable content or features of the website or live chat features.

Rights and Choices of Service Users

Service users have the right to:

Be informed about and access to the personal information we hold about the service user
Request corrections or updates to service user data
Withdraw consent for us to process personal data (if applicable)
Request the deletion of the service user’s personal data (subject to legal or contractual obligations)

Service users have a legal right, under the Data Protection Act 1998, to a copy of all the personal information held by us. On request, we will provide the service user with a copy of this information.

Further information about the service users’ rights can also be obtained from the Information Commissioner’s Office or a local Citizens Advice Bureau.

If the service user has any cause for complaint about our use of their personal data, they have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. We would welcome the opportunity to resolve any concerns ourselves, so please contact us first.

If service users have any questions or wish to exercise any of their rights, they should contact us at enquiries@myonlinemidwife.com.

External Links

The websites accessed by service users may contain links to other third-party websites or our live chat may be present on our partners websites or in app. We have no control over these sites/apps take no responsibility for their content or their privacy policies (if any). The service user should make their own independent judgment regarding interaction with these sites/apps, including the purchase and use of any information, products or services accessible through them.

Appropriate use of Digitalisation

My Online Midwife believes that AI and other forms of digitalisation should only be used to support and complement the role of health professionals and to reduce global health inequalities. My Online Midwife is committed to introducing data-driven features that make our services safer, evidenced based and most-contemporary (e.g., consistency in guidance and information shared). Furthermore, we will only introduce features that aim make our team more efficient in how we can deliver advice and information to service users.

In certain cases, we may use digitalisation to provide recommendations for frequently asked questions, clinical concerns, and to assist in some administrative tasks.

User data may be employed to train algorithms for AI powered tools.

Changes to This Privacy Notice

We reserve the right to update or change this Privacy Notice from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page, and we will notify service users if there are significant updates. We recommend reviewing this Privacy Notice periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting service user information.

This privacy notice was last updated April 2025.

If the service users has any questions or concerns about this Privacy Notice or how we handle data, please contact us at:

My Online Midwife
enquiries@myonlinemidwife.com

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