Steering Committee

Professor Soo Downe is an internationally recognised researcher working in maternity care. and has an extensive research track record in maternity services research with UK and global impact. She has published over 200 peer reviewed papers and has been PI or co-researcher on funded projects with a total income of over £9 million. She is author of three Cochrane reviews and was a co-author on three Lancet Series: Midwifery (2014), Stillbirth (2016), and Reducing Unnecessary Caesarean Section (2018). Soo has particular research focus on the nature of, and cultures around, physiological labour and birth. As well as undertaking research, she teaches on both undergraduate and postgraduate research programmes. She regularly works with the World Health Organisation and with other research, practice, and public health leaders in maternity care around the world.’

Kerri D. Schuiling, PhD, CNM(ret), NP, FACNM, FAAN, is a past president and currently a Distinguished Professor at Northern Michigan University located in Marquette, Michigan. Dr. Schuiling has received several awards for her work in academe and practice including the Award for Outstanding Scholarship, the ACNM Kitty Ernst award for innovative, creative endeavors in midwifery and women’s health and the ACNM Foundation’s Dorthea M. Lange Pioneering award. In 2013, she was named an Esteemed Woman of Michigan for making extraordinary contributions to improve the community and inspire others in the state of Michigan. In 2015 she received the Distinguished Service to Society Award from Frontier Nursing University and in 2019 she was a Crain’s Notable Women in Education Leadership Awardee recognizing her career accomplishments, and contributions to her community. She is the founding co-editor of the book: Women’s Gynecological Health, and is a founding co-editor of the International Journal of Childbirth.

Dr. Irene Lee was the Chairperson of the Midwives Council of Hong Kong for 6 years. She facilitates midwifery professional development. As the Chairperson of the Council, she led the Working Group on Advancement on Midwifery Practice in 2018, and a voluntary scheme for registration of Advanced Practice Midwife was established in 2022, to pave the way for statutory registration. She is also a member of the assessment panel of the Health and Medical Research Fund and has contributed to the assessment of funded research studies since 2019. Dr. Lee is the President of the Hong Kong Midwives Association since 2014. She advocates continuous education and the practice on normal birth. She supports the association in providing training and education to midwives. She has also facilitated the provision of a Normal Birth Module from the University of Central Lancashire for Hong Kong midwives. In 2024, she facilitated the Association to hold the International Normal Labour and Birth Research Conference in Hong Kong with successful results.

Sheena Byrom is a practicing midwife of more than 40 years and is an accomplished author and international speaker. With her midwife daughter Anna, Sheena is the joint owner and publisher of three midwifery journals and an award-winning online learning platform All4Maternity.com. Sheena was awarded an OBE in 2011 for services to midwifery and was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Midwives in 2015. In 2016 and 2018, Sheena received Honorary Doctorates from Bournemouth University and the University of Central Lancashire, and in 2017 she was made a Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University. Sheena is committed to the humanisation of childbirth, and to supporting the wellbeing of maternity staff through compassionate, collaborative and inclusive leadership.

Prof. Dr. Julia Leinweber (PhD) has practiced as a midwife in Germany and Australia. With degrees from Glasgow Caledonian University (BSc. Mid) and the University of Melbourne (MPH), she has lectured at the Sunshine Coast University (Australia) and at the Hannover Medical School. In 2016, she completed her PhD from Griffith University (Australia) on prevalence and risk factors for traumatic stress among midwives. Since 2021, she is the director of the Institute for Midwifery and leads the BSc. Midwifery Programm at the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. She has a longstanding professional and research interest in trauma-informed and empathic midwifery care and it’s potential to enhance birth experiences and psychosocial wellbeing in women.

Professor Rikke Damkjær Maimburg is professor in midwifery and prevention at Aarhus University and Aarhus University hospital in Denmark. She is the first midwifery professor at her university and among the first midwifery professors in her country being forefront in establishing midwifery research in Denmark. Her research covers mainly topics such as individualised care and professional competences working within a broad scope of interdisciplinary related areas. As well as undertaking research, she teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate students from different professional backgrounds as well as on courses for Ph.D students and their main-supervisors. She is program head at the Ph.D program ClinFO (Clinical Medicine, Forensic Medicine, Dentistry and Oral Health) at the Ph.D School at Aarhus University covering 450 annual PhD students. She serves as co-editor at the scientific journal Sexual and Reproductive Health Care and are affiliated as professor at Western Sydney University in Australia.

Kirstie is a Reader in Maternity Care at the University of Lancashire, UK, and is part of the Research in Childbirth and Health (ReaCH) group. A midwife and nurse by background, Kirstie undertakes applied health services and social science research in maternity care. She has expertise in qualitative narrative methods, mixed-methods and evidence synthesis. Her key research interests include informed or shared decision-making, person-centred care, experiences of maternity care, and ways to involve service users in maternity care research. Kirstie is an experienced mentor, postgraduate supervisor and examiner, and has also undertaken evaluation of complex interventions, knowledge mobilisation and implementation science projects. She is an associate editor for Midwifery journal, and on the editorial board for Health Risk and Society journal.

Melissa Cheyney is a medical anthropologist and licensed midwife. She began her studies in anthropology as a Master’s student in bioarchaeology with a focus on health and disease patterns in classical antiquity. As Melissa entered her doctoral program, her focus began to shift to the health of living populations. While working on her Ph.D. at the University of Oregon, Melissa decided to pursue a clinical degree in midwifery while completing the requirements for her doctorate in medical anthropology. Her research focuses on a subfield of medical anthropology called evolutionary medicine. It examines contemporary health conditions, including maternal and infant health patterns, in cross-cultural and evolutionary perspective. Melissa continues to attend home deliveries while teaching Biocultural Anthropology at Oregon State University.

Elise Erickson, PhD, CNM, FACNM is an Associate Professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Physiology at the University of Arizona and is joint appointed in OB/GYN. She is also a Certified Nurse Midwife and has been practicing midwifery since 2005 in a variety of settings. At her lab, Mechanisms Underpinning Maternal Health, or MuMH, the team focuses on the causes and consequences of maternal health and morbidity during childbirth and postpartum including molecular (genetic/epigenetic), social environmental and clinical care practice variation. She has a particular research emphasis on understanding postpartum hemorrhage and non-invasive prediction of labor onset. Her work is funded through the National Institutes of Health, Tech Launch Arizona, Arizona Biomedical Research Centre and the Flinn Foundation.

Mimi Bhatt, PhD, MPH, CNM, is Assistant Professor at NYU Meyers . She is a theorist, educator, researcher, and certified nurse-midwife. She has practiced midwifery for the past 14 years in a community hospital in Brooklyn, NY. She is trained in utilizing critical feminist theory, as theorized by Black and brown feminist scholars, and qualitative research methods as a means to implement policy and programming rooted in critical feminist and anti-oppression frameworks. As a researcher, she hopes to generate midwifery knowledge as a tool to build equity and liberation for marginalized and minoritized people. She grew up as a first-generation Indian immigrant in NY and is mother to two young adults, and honors her mother’s legacy as a midwife in India.

Prasansa Budha Lama is a pioneering registered midwife from Nepal’s first batch of certified midwives. As the Secretary of the Midwifery Society of Nepal, she is a dedicated advocate for maternal and neonatal health. Honored as one of the World’s 100+ Outstanding Midwives in 2020 by WHO, UNFPA, ICM, and Women in Global Health, she has been celebrated for her exceptional contributions to midwifery. An alumna of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Young Midwife Leadership Program (2021-2023), Prasansa has honed her skills in advocacy, policy, and global midwifery leadership. Currently pursuing a Master’s in Healthcare Management, she is further strengthening her expertise to improve healthcare systems. A Certified Childbirth Educator, Birth Hypnotherapist, and Gentle Birth Method Practitioner, Prasansa empowers women with evidence-based, compassionate care. As an Independent Midwife Consultant, she supports expectant mothers through personalized, holistic services. Beyond her professional achievements, she is a devoted mother to an 18-month-old baby, enriching her perspective on childbirth and parenting with firsthand experience.

Dr Ria Clarke is an obstetrics and gynaecology registrar in the South of England. Throughout her training she has dedicated herself to learning how to amplify the voices of the individuals and families she cares for. Her clinical work involves training within the hospital environment to care for people with reproductive organs at formative periods in their lives. This includes medical and surgical interventions. Outside of the hospital environment, this passion has led to Dr Clarke presenting at international conferences about the impact of severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy and working with her alma mater to support non-traditional medical students become doctors. Her most recent advocacy has focused on the racial disparities in maternal mortality between Black, white and Asian women. This has involved collaborations with agencies such as the BBC, and the charity Tommys.

In 2022, she received the Ruth Sonntag Nussenzweig Award for her influence on public policies related to women’s health. Professor Diniz collaborated for 20 years with the Feminist Collective of Sexuality and Health, organizing the first training programs for health providers on violence against women in the 1990s. She was part of the Brazilian delegation for the Vienna (Human Rights) and Cairo (Population) Conferences and has been involved in several international networks researching reproductive rights and gender violence. Prof. Diniz teaches and researches sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender violence, gender and health, innovation in maternal and child health, evidence-based public health, and data science. She coordinates the CNPq GEMAS Group (Gender and Evidence in Maternity and Health) and was a regional coordinator of the National Survey “Birth in Brazil.”

Professor Rose Mjawa Laisser is a Tanzanian associate Professor of Midwifery and Women’s health . Rose started her career as a Nurse Midwife during April 1977. In her carreer development journey, she studied a master degree in health education /promotion in Leeds Metropolitan University UK during and completed in the year 2000. Her interest in Women’s health grew when she was exposed in the WHO Multi country study on gender based violence during 2005. In her PhD studies completed in the year 2011 with a her theses topic on Prevention of Intimate Partner violence in Tanzania. During 2012, Rose supported Pathfinder international on GBV activities as one among the two Lead consultants for two years. Currently Rose is a Dean of School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences Mwanza Tanzania. She continues to support women which is evidenced by her studies several studies on Maternal and Child health as continue to teach Midwifery to undergraduate students and also Neonatology and research for post graduate students at CUHAS. At the national level, Rose has contributed to the Nursing and Midwifery proffession as a board member with the Tanzania Nurses and Midwifery Council while at the regional level Rose is the country focal person for LAMRN- a network of Midwives researcher from 6 countries in Africa and United Kingdom . At the international level Rose collaborates with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in a global Health Unit Project on Still Birth and neonatal death studies sponsored by the NIHR at the moment. As a resercher Rose has published more than 50 publications (can be viewed in google Scholar), Generally, Rose has vast experience of working with the Tanzania health care system in public and in private health facilities for more 46 years (1977-2025) with the understanding of Tanzanian social cultural challenges and health problems that affects the population with its impact particularly the disadvantaged women, boys and children men.

Inderjeet Kaur, known as Indie, is the Director of Midwifery at Fernandez Hospitals, India. With a strong background in the UK’s National Health Service, she has focused her career on reducing health inequalities for vulnerable women. One of her most notable achievements was establishing the world’s first maternity clinic at the Royal London Hospital dedicated to survivors of sexual violence. Over the past seven years in India, Indie has played a pivotal role in developing professional midwifery. At the Fernandez Foundation, and in collaboration with the Governments of Telangana and India, she has provided clinical leadership and training, championing respectful, humanised care to reduce maternal mortality. Her efforts have been central to advancing India’s midwifery initiatives, culminating in Telangana being awarded the Best Performing State in Midwifery in December 2022. Indie is also pursuing a PhD at the University of Liverpool, UK, focusing on optimising maternal and perinatal outcomes by promoting safe caesarean sections in low- and middle-income countries such as India and Tanzania. Her leadership and contributions have been recognised internationally, with accolades including the British Medical Journal award and the 2019 NHS Chief Midwifery Officer Gold Award. Widely published and a sought-after speaker, Indie continues to influence maternal health policy and practice globally.

Mary Newburn has been involved in community-based, voluntary, maternity and parenting support and action since her first two children were born in the 1970s. She now works in ‘patient and public involvement’ in maternity and perinatal mental health research, mainly with NIHR Applied Research Collaboration – South London. Research interests include: place of birth, home birth, birth centres, models of care, continuity, physiological birth and women’s emotional wellbeing. Qualifications: NCT antenatal teacher, Sociology (BSc Hons), Voluntary Sector Management (post-grad diploma), and Public Health: Health Services Research (MSc). She has been a service user advisor or co-investigator on studies including the National Sentinel Caesarean Audit (RCOG, London); Birthplace in England (Brocklehurst, University of Oxford); The POPPY Study: Developing a Model of Family-Centred Care for Neonatal Units (Staniszewska, Warwick University); randomised controlled trials: INFANT (Brocklehurst, Birmingham University) and RELAX (Hirsch, Kings College London); and a data linkage study: Births and their outcomes (Macfarlane, City, University of London).

DR. JEMIMA ARABA DENNIS-ANTWI is a global public health professional, midwife, general nurse, and health systems leader with over 38 years of experience advancing maternal, newborn, and women’s health across Africa and globally through health workforce development, policy development, midwifery and nursing leadership, institutional capacity strengthening and governance through local and international board work. Her Global Impact expands across: 45+ countries of professional engagement, including direct technical leadership in 16 African countries and collaborative work across 33 African nations. - Established Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives (GCNM) as First President and Acting Rector, creating the nation’s premier statutory institution for specialist nursing and midwifery education. - Led midwifery systems strengthening across Anglophone Africa as Regional Midwifery Adviser for ICM under the ICM–UNFPA partnership, contributing to impact in over 40 countries in Africa and South-East Asia. - Rebuilt post-conflict midwifery systems through policy formulation and programming in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Libya, and Somalia as UNFPA Resident and Independent Consultant in nursing and midwifery. - Global advisory and board leadership, collaborating with WHO, UNICEF, UN Women, Jhpiego, White Ribbon Alliance, Expertise France, local and international universities and initiatives supported by the Bill Gates Foundation. She currently serves as Founding President and CEO of the Centre for Health Development and Research (CEHDAR), advancing health systems strengthening, workforce development, women’s health, pre-service and continuing professional education and evidence-informed policies. Her leadership and contributions have been recognized nationally and internationally including the Grand Medal Award (OGM-GH ) of the Ghana National Presidential Awards and Honours (2024).

Professor Vedam is the Lead Investigator of the Birth Place Lab and Professor of Midwifery, at University of British Columbia. She has been a clinician and a health professional educator for over 30 years. Her research projects include the national, CIHR-funded Canadian Birth Place Study; and Changing Childbirth in BC. The Giving Voice to Mothers Study explored experiences of respect, discrimination, and inequities in access to quality care among communities of color and among those who plan home and birth center births. In 2017, she was selected as one of the inaugural Michael Smith Health Research Institute Health Professional Investigators. She has led development of clinical screening tools and new quality measures (MAPi, PAPHB, PAPHI-I, the MISS index, the Birthplace ResQu Index, the Mothers’s Autonomy in Decision Making (MADM) scale, the Mothers on Respect (MOR) index, and the Pregnant Persons’ Experience of Mistreatment by Providers (PPEMP) index), and has developed an interprofessional online course, Dialogue and Decisions. Professor Vedam has been active in setting national and international policy on place of birth, and midwifery education and regulation. She was Convener and Chair of four national Home Birth Consensus Summits. In 2010, she chaired the 5th International Normal Labour and Birth Research conference in Vancouver.

Lisa Kane Low PhD CNM is Senior Associate Dean of Professional Graduate Studies and Professional Relations in the School of Nursing and holds appointments as Professor in Department of Women’s and Gender Studies and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and as the Carolyn M. Sampselle Collegiate Professor in the School of Nursing at University of Michigan. She is in full scope midwifery clinical practice at University of Michigan Health. Lisa has held leadership positions on a national and state level participating in development of national standard setting documents for the American College of Nurse-Midwives and as a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists obstetrics practice committee as well as a member of the National Alliance for Maternal Innovation or AIM program participating as an author of the Post Partum Hemorrhage and Promoting Safe Vaginal Delivery Safety Bundles. Her research focuses on promoting healthy birth practices including leading initiatives focused on safely reducing primary cesarean births, prevention of hemorrhage and the role of Doulas in improving health outcomes. She is a past President of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Holly Powell Kennedy, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN was the inaugural Helen Varney Professor of Midwifery (now emeritus) at the Yale University School of Nursing. She has served as the President of the American College of Nurse-Midwives and received the 2016 Hattie Hemschemeyer Award, their highest honor. Her program of research is focused on a greater understanding of the effectiveness and outcomes of specific models of care during the childbearing year, especially in support of childbearing physiology. She was a Fulbright Distinguished Fellowship at King’s College London in 2008 and is currently a Fulbright Specialist. She is a retired Colonel in the US Army Nurse Corps Reserve.

Eugene Declercq, Ph.D., M.B.A., is a Professor of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health and Professor on the faculty of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Boston University School of Medicine. He’s collaborated on 4 studies involving 6 reports on women’s experiences in childbirth entitled Listening to Mothers and is currently part of the team working on a new national survey. Dr. Declercq is the creator of the website www.birthbythenumbers.org. His recent research has focused on maternal mortality and severe morbidity and he’s currently a member of the Massachusetts Maternal Mortality Review Committee.