City University Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research

What do women think about REACH Pregnancy circles? Find out here: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.... #pregnancy #antenatalcare #groupantenatalcare

Read the paper that outlines the principles and evidence behind group antenatal care and the REACH Pregnancy Programme here: ow.ly/7Vu650Y5zOW. #maternalhealth #antenatalcare #pregnancycircles #pregnancy

`It makes sense and it works': Maternity care providers' perspectives on the feasibility of a group antenatal care model (Pregnancy Circles) To test the feasibility of introducing a group antenatal care initiative (Pregnancy Circles) in an area with high levels of social deprivation and cul…

"It makes sense and it works." Read about maternity care providers' views on REACH pregnancy circles: ow.ly/Xrfp50Y5zMh

#MaternalHealth #PregnancyCare #Midwifery #antenatalcare #HealthResearch #MaternityCare

REACH Pregnancy Programme (Pregnancy Circles) is the largest international trial of group antenatal care. Learn more about this groundbreaking research: ow.ly/VtYp50Y5zvI

#MaternalHealth #PregnancyCare #AntenatalCare #Research #PublicHealth #REACHProgramme

Centre Member Dr Mandie Scamell leads the nested acceptability study in the #SonoBreech study. Discover more: www.sonobreech.uk/

#BreechBirth #Midwifery #HealthResearch

Click here for the first publication from the OPTIMAL study: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.... #inductionoflabour #MaternalHealth #Childbirth #MaternityResearch #WomensHealth #Obstetrics #Midwifery

One of the projects led by researchers in Models of Maternal and Child Health Care group is the qualitative arm of the @NIHRresearch funded OPTIMAL study: OPtimal Timing of Induction of labour to improve Maternal and perinatAL outcomes: ow.ly/sTxO50Y5ysV

The Models of Maternal and Child Health Care research group, led by @ProfMcCourt, evaluates and improves maternity, child, and family care services. Learn more about their impact on health outcomes. #MaternalHealth #ChildHealth #MaternityCare #HealthResearch #CMCHR

Over the next few weeks we will be talking about the amazing projects carried out by the researchers in the Centre #maternalhealth #research #maternalandchildhealth

Healthcare professionals’ views on barriers, facilitators and optimisation of care for perinatal anxiety: a qualitative investigation BMC Health Services Research - The experience of pregnancy and having a baby is a time of significant change and transition. One in five perinatal women experience problems with their emotional...

Una, Patricia, Rose and Susan from the Centre have just published a fascinating paper on healthcare professionals’ views on optimisation of care for perinatal anxiety as part of the MAP Alliance study. Check it out here: link.springer.com/ar... #perinatalanxiety

The centre is made up of 3 research groups: Perinatal Mental Health, Models of Care and Public Health, and on Tuesday the PMH group met up to discuss current & future research priorities. Topics covered ranged from perinatal anxiety to mother-baby bond #perinatalmentalhealth #maternalmentalhealth

Transitioning to Midwife-Led Models of Care in Afghanistan  | International Confederation of Midwives Afghanistan faces a prolonged humanitarian crisis, with maternal and newborn mortality among the highest globally. The Afghan Midwives Association (AMA) has been strengthening midwifery through advocacy, leadership, and capacity building since 2005. AMA’s Midwife-Led Maternity Care Centers provide a transformative model of women-led, women-centered care—ensuring that even in crisis, Afghan women and families have access to high-quality, respectful maternity services.

Dr Lucia Rocca-Ihenacho from our Centre and her colleagues have published an article about transitioning to Midwife-Led Models of Care in Afghanistan. Read it here:

We hope you all had a lovely break and a happy new year! Looking forward to sharing more of our amazing achievements and work with you this year! :)

Season's greetings from us all at the Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research. What a productive year it has been! We look forward to seeing you all in 2026!

In September 2025 @ProfMcCourt was awarded an NIHR Pre-doctoral Fellowship for Heather Reeves from the Department of Health and Social Care. Well done Chris! #NIHRFellowship #ResearchFunding

In April 2025 Cassandra Yuill was awarded internal funding to carry out a project entitled "Learning from service failings – groundwork for a large-scale mixed methods study of leadership and management in maternity services". Amazing work Cassandra! #HealthcareResearch

In March 2025 Marina Danielle was awarded the NIHR Pre-Application fund Round 4 funding from the Department of Health and Social Care. Well done Marina! #NIHRFunding #ResearchAward #FundingSuccess

In March 2025 Dr Rebecca Webb and Genesis Chorwe-Sungani were awarded an Academy of Medical Sciences Networking Grant to set up INTERSECT Africa www.intersectstudy.o.... Well done Becca and Genesis! #AcademyOfMedicalSciences #NetworkingGrant

In Feb 2025 Rose Meades was awarded HEIF funding from City St George's to carry out a project entitled "Building and piloting educational resources to support consent and best practice in awake hysteroscopy". Amazing work Rose! @RoseCoatesBN5 #Hysteroscopy #ConsentInHealthcare

Back in February of this year, Octavia Wiseman received funding from NHS England and NHS Improvement to deliver Pregnancy Circles Training to Salford NHS Trust - Well done Octavia :) #NHSFunding #PregnancyCircles

Back in September Dr Rebecca Webb & Dr Georgie Constantinou were awarded a Barts Charity Research Seed Grant to co-design recommendations for psychological support offered to bereaved families after experiencing a perinatal loss. Well done to both! #PerinatalLoss #ResearchGrant

Prof Susan Ayers published an astonishing 12 papers from March-August this year. Here are the doi's of a few of them: doi.org/10.1080/2329..., doi.org/10.1136/bmjg..., doi.org/10.1080/1381..., doi.org/10.1186/s128...

In the lead up to the festive period we are going to be celebrating the achievements of our amazing colleagues in the Centre this year so watch this space! #feelingfestive #academicachievements

In the lead up to the festive period we are going to be celebrating the achievements of our amazing colleagues in the Centre this year so watch this space! #feelingfestive #academicachievements

Congratulations to Dr Rebecca Webb for winning the Outstanding Postdoctoral Research Scientist award at @citystgeorges.bsky.social School of Health and Medical Sciences Research Day on Wednesday #postdoc #awards #research

Congratulations to Dr Rebecca Webb for winning the Oustanding Postdoctoral Research Scientist award at @citystgeorges.bsky.social School of Health and Medical Sciences Research Day on Wednesday! #congratulations #postdoc #research

Dr Emma-Jane Berridge is a midwife and academic. She is the Co-Head of Midwifery and Radiography. She is also the Programme Director for the MSc Midwifery & MSc Enhanced Midwifery Care. #Midwifery #AcademicMidwife

Anna Madeley joined City St George's at the beginning of this month. She is a Senior Midwifery Lecturer. She has diverse research interests including: complex care planning, institutional and reproductive human rights, midwifery education, and critical thinking. Welcome Anna!

Shujana Keraudren is an academic midwife with an interest in incorporating salutogenic theories within maternal and child health research. She is a Midwifery Lecturer and leads on the Baby Friendly Initiatives for the Midwifery Department. #Midwifery #BabyFriendlyInitiative

Fedwa Harrak is a professional midwife and recently joined City St George's as a midwifery lecturer. She is a skilled midwife, educator, and public health advocate #PublicHealth #Midwifery #WomensHealth