The Maternity & Midwifery Hour

Series 20 - Episode 6: The way forward for Midwifery and Maternity Services?

Maternity Services, and Midwifery in the UK, have been under intense scrutiny through a raft of different reviews, reports and media debate over the last couple of years, as evidence has been gathered on women’s and families’ experiences of baby loss and traumatic birth. Most worrying is the apparent loss of compassionate care and the impact on women facing pregnancy and childbirth, as well as on midwives and those within the maternity care team for whom it can be traumatic and morale breaking.

This evening we are joined by Julia Sanders, Professor of Clinical Midwifery at Cardiff University and an expert advisor to the national maternity and neonatal Amos Inquiry. We will explore some of evidence and also some possible solutions to provide a truly personalised and individualised maternity service for women, and for midwives and the wider multidisciplinary team.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdoanld

Contributions from:

Professor Julia Sanders PhD, Professor of Clinical Midwifery, School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University

Most of us will know that our supermarket bills are increasing due to the rising cost of living and this might mean that we have to cut out a treat or two. But for some families, with a new baby, the rising cost of infant formula is having a major impact on their well-being, forcing parents to reduce their own food intake, take strategies which may impact on their baby’s health, or even getting into debt, to ensure their babies are fed and cared for.

This week we are joined by Professor Amy Brown, Professor of Maternal and Child Health at Swansea University, who will be talking about the findings of the first UK study to focus on the cost of infant formula and its impact on feeding practices, parental health and well-being and how we can support families experiencing food poverty.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdonald

Contributions from:

Prof Amy Brown, Professor of Maternal and Child Health, School of Health & Social Care, Swansea University

While professional frameworks uphold compassionate care, growing global evidence indicates that disrespectful and abusive care remains a persistent systemic issue within maternity services worldwide.

This session addresses the need for robust evidence to deepen our understanding around compassionate midwifery and the humanisation of birth. It also tells the story of three midwife-researchers and members of a research network: The International Research Network for Compassionate Midwifery, who will talk about their own research and the power of networking. Drawing from distinct healthcare environments in the UK, South Africa, and Uganda, the speakers will illustrate how targeted research is helping to build a strong evidence base on the theory and practice of compassionate midwifery. The benefits of bringing together research carried out in diverse cultural and geographical settings will be discussed and, in particular, the insights into both the similarities and the differences seen in different settings. Local, national and international evidence on compassion can drive reform across midwifery education, practice, policy and culture; safeguarding maternal rights and raising global care standards.

Hosted by:

Dr Jenny Hall, Midwifery Editor, Matflix & Maternity and Midwifery Forum

Contributions from:

Dr Diane Menage, Chair of the International Research Network for Compassionate Midwifery, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at De Montfort University, UK

Dr Petronella Lunda, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing, North-West University, South Africa

Kenyonyozi Rubagumya, Assistant Lecturer, Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Mountains of the Moon University, Fort Portal, Uganda

Using research and evidence has become an important part of the midwife’s toolbox and, for some midwives, this moves beyond, to querying aspects of their practice, learning or management and towards a journey towards engaging in research themselves.

This week, we are looking at two stages of research – the first is work truly in progress. We will hear from midwife Sophie Hicks who is looking at Models of Care and what midwives’ views of these models are. She’s currently seeking help with this from midwives across the UK.

Then Dr Claire Feeley, Senior Lecturer and Midwifery/Maternal Health Researcher, KCL, will talk about the Intrapartum self-assessment tool for midwifery students and educators - which emerged from ground breaking research presented at the London Maternity and Midwifery Forum in February 2026.

Models of Care - research in progress.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdonald

Contributions from:

Claire Feeley Senior Lecturer and Midwifery/Maternal Health Researcher KCL

Sophie Hicks, Maternity Matron for Compliance, Central London trust

Series 20 - Episode 2: Birth, Safety and Beyond: Understanding Women’s Experiences

At a time when maternity services across England are facing intense scrutiny, what does it mean to put women and families genuinely at the centre of maternity care?

The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, chaired by Baroness Valerie Amos, and the extensive independent review of maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, have highlighted serious concerns about safety, culture, communication and the extent to which women's voices are heard and acted upon.

Against this backdrop, Episode 2 of Season 20 of Maternity & Midwifery Hour looks beyond individual incidents and asks important questions about women's experiences of pregnancy, birth and the transition into parenthood.

Dr Carmen Power, Writer, Researcher and Educator, explores birth trauma, bonding and baby behaviour, considering how experiences around birth can affect the developing relationship between mother and baby and what professionals need to understand about the behaviour of babies and families following a difficult birth.

We are also joined by Anna Melamed, Senior Lecturer at the University of the West of England, to discuss woman-centred antenatal safety assessment. Her presentation considers how safety assessment can move beyond a purely clinical checklist to recognise the individual woman, her circumstances, her concerns and the importance of listening to what she is telling us.

At a moment when the future of maternity services is being shaped by major investigations and reviews, this episode brings the conversation back to the individual woman and baby: how can we make maternity care safer while ensuring that women feel heard, respected and supported?

Join us live for another hour of conversation, insight and learning for everyone working in maternity and midwifery.

• Sue Macdonald

• Dr Carmen Power, Writer, Researcher and Educator
• Anna Melamed, Senior Lecturer, University of the West of England

Series 20 - Episode 1: The Midwifery Student Jobs Crisis

How has it come about that there are so few jobs for student midwives? The NHS has known they were in the pipeline, on student placement, in maternity units.

The NHS has a shortage of midwives; maternity units are marked "need improvement" or "inadequate" by CQC for staff shortages.

Earlier this year student midwives, including one of our contributors, presented a petition to No10. The Government has promised money for 1000 recruits, but 2800 are coming out of university this summer.

Do they need to present it again to No 10 North in Manchester?

Hear what is happening and what you can do about it.

Take part, ask questions, tell your story and experiences, take action!

Hosted by:

Neil Stewart, Editorial Director, Maternity & Midwifery Forum

Contributions from:

Alix Morrison, Student Midwife campaigner

Nicole Stuart, founder of Early Careers Midwives Network and qualified midwife.

For as long as we can remember, student midwives have learned about the female pelvis, and the fetal skull, its dimensions and fit together, and the mechanism of labour. But do we always understand the complexities of that mechanism, and the influence of factors like exercise, and movement may have on the process, even before the beginning of labour? Molly O’Brien joins us to discuss how we can develop our knowledge and skills, using research and evidence focussing on biomechanics, and how we can encourage women to move that little bit more, and try different movements to make their labour and birth work better.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdoanld

Contributions from:

Molly O’Brien, Educator & Specialist, Biomechanics for Birth

One of the key outcomes that we as midwives within the maternity care team need to address is that of pre-term labour and birth – when a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, working towards improving perinatal outcomes.

We are joined this week by Dede Thorpe, Preterm Specialist Midwife at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, who will be talking about the experience of women and families who have given birth early, and highlight the key risk factors, highlighting how to signpost women and families to good pre-terms services. Dede will also discuss how the midwife can best identify the common risk factors and ensure that care is tailored to the needs of that woman and her baby, and also deal with and bridge gaps in care for this cohort of women.

Hosted by:

Sue Macdoanld

Contributions from:

Dede Thorpe Preterm Birth Specialist Midwife East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust

Series 19 - Episode 9: Where next for Midwifery? Ockenden & Amos round up

Maternity & Midwifery are the subject two significant reports which have huge implications for the choices for women and the shape of the profession.

Students can’t get jobs, experienced midwives are retiring and leaving, education is trapped in university financial crisis and now the basic roles and education of the profession are being questioned, with calls to end direct entry to graduate courses.

In less than a decade the objective of Better Births and Continuity of Care seem further away than ever, the statistics for maternal deaths are getting worse, not better, and the objective of halving stillbirths remains far away. We now have revelations of huge failing in maternity services, disrespect and insensitive treatment of women in labour, unprofessional behaviour among colleagues and accusations of bullying of women and junior staff.

Is this a complete picture of what is happening and will the proposed solutions make the difference expected?

Hosted by:

Neil Stewart

Contributions from:

Neil Stewart, Editorial Director, MATFLIX/ Maternity & Midwifery Forum

Nicky Clark, Freelance Midwifery Educationalist; former LME, University of Hull

Live from the Bradford Maternity & Midwifery Festival 2026

Keynote address: The maternity care crisis and lessons learned 

Professor Andrew Weeks, Professor of International Maternal Healthcare, University of Liverpool  

From strategy to practice: what the women’s health strategy means for midwives 

Dr Rosie Dawson, Consultant Midwife, MNVP Professional Lead, South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust; Honorary Lecturer, Teesside University, Scientific Board of Advisors - Active Pregnancy Foundation; Board  Member - North East Obesity Forum