Midwife, researcher,educator, consultant, advocate
Mission
As a midwife and researcher, my mission is to challenge the status quo, to provoke and disrupt dualistic thinking, to bring complexity and nuance back to the conversation in maternity care and to create meaningful change. Holding space for multiple ways of knowing, drawing upon eclectic influences, and rooted in understanding sociocultural-political drivers - my work focuses on innovative approaches to problem-solving.
Clinical, research and educational interests
Qualifying as a midwife in 2011, earning an MSc in 2015, PhD in 2019; I have worked clinically in all areas of midwifery, in all settings, and across different organisations, across all birthplace settings – specialising in physiological birth across the risk spectrum, water immersion, advocacy and change implementation. My primary research focus has been on the sociocultural-political interactions upon women’s access to, engagement with and experiences of maternity care. Grounded within interests of health inequalities, childbirth choices, autonomy, rights and care provision issues; a core research focus is on ‘full-scope’ midwifery skill, competence and enabling (or not) working environments as the solution to overcoming many of the issues. See more in ‘about me’.
Collaborations
I currently work at King’s College London as a researcher and lecturer. I continue to collaborate with the University of Central Lancashire REACH and MAINN research groups and Oxford Brookes OxMater research group. Previous collaborations include research with the Centre of Implementation Science and the Centre for Healthcare Innovation Research and the World Health Organization; consultancy for the International Confederation of Midwives, and the Stanford Center for Health Education in South Africa; workshop and training delivery for several UK hospital Trusts and organisations. Additionally, I have lectured across multiple universities for undergraduate and postgraduate students and am a former Editor-in-Chief (2019-2021) of The Practising Midwife international journal.
