Two midwives, Jaki Lambert and Terry Kana, from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), have won the International Fellowship Award (IFA) with the aim of enabling midwives to further develop research interests in midwifery, maternity services, pregnancy, childbirth and women’s health from an international perspective.
This grant is as a result of the ongoing partnership between the medical research charity Wellbeing of Women, the Royal College of Midwives and the Burdett Trust for Nursing.
Jaki Lambert is on secondment to the LSTM Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health from her current role as a senior research associate in Scotland. Her research will focus on recording the experiences of women who use maternity services in Zimbabwe. She will be working with women and midwives to develop a user-friendly text messaging tool that can be used by women to enter scores about their experiences with maternity services during birth. The information will then be used to improve the care of women and ensure they get the services that meets their needs.
Terry Kana is a lecturer at the LSTM Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health and her research will focus on midwifery in Bangladesh. She will be working with midwives in Bangladesh to assess the workload and diversity of their role. Terry hopes her research will contribute to enhancements in midwifery education in Bangladesh that reflect the midwives’ own aspirations for their roles, and the needs of maternity services in the country.
Commenting Jaki Lambert said: “I am really grateful and honoured to be awarded this fellowship. This offers a wonderful opportunity for me to be embedded in research that has the potential to improve care for women and their babies. Also as part of the Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health it is great news as it fits within the wider quality agenda. It is important that women have a voice that can influence care provision whatever the context.”
Commenting Terry Kana said: “I am so happy to have been awarded this funding. It’s a great honour. The funding will help me complete part of the fieldwork for my PhD which is looking at the scope of practice and workload of midwives in low and middle income countries.”
Louise Silverton, Director for Midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives said; “I am delighted funding has been awarded to Jaki and Terry. Both of the projects will make a very important contribution to improving the care of women and their babies in these countries. I look forward to seeing the results of their work.
“These projects are always a two-way learning process. We in the UK can also learn a lot from our midwifery colleagues in other countries. I am sure Jaki and Terry will bring back ways of working that could also contribute to improved maternity services here in the UK.”
Fiona Leishman, Chief Executive, Wellbeing of Women, said: “Wellbeing of Women greatly values its partnership with the RCM and the Burdett Trust for Nursing. We share a goal of providing the funding to give midwives the opportunity to research both here in the UK and in developing countries. By funding these projects we are able to continue this vital support. The international research awards are a fantastic opportunity for these talented midwives and will ultimately improve the care women and babies receive.”
Shirley Baines, Chief Executive of the Burdett Trust for Nursing, said: “The Burdett Trust for Nursing is committed to developing leadership across the profession and ensuring that women get the best possible maternity care. We are delighted that our funding for Wellbeing of Women is having such a wide impact and we wish Jaki and Terry every success with their important international research.”
For more information about the awards visit https://www.rcm.org.uk/news-views-and-analysis/news/international-fellowship-award-for-midwives-2015-in-association-with