I’ve enjoyed thinking with (and at times being challenged by) @quillkukla.bsky.social’s work on consent for while, so it was a pleasure to review their new book for @flsjournal.bsky.social: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
As part of our research into birth douals and medical law we are running focus groups with (1) birth doulas, (2) healthcare professionals (widely defined) involved in childbirth and (3) people who have used or seriously considered using a birth doula in the past five years. To take part you must have worked or given birth in the UK. Interviews will take place in English. (Please note, we will hold separate focus groups with each of these three groups) * If you choose to take part in this research, you will be invited to participate in a focus group discussion with 5-8 other participants. These may be online or in-person, and you will be given a chance to specify your preference on the expression of interest form. The groups will last approximately 90 minutes and will be facilitated by both of the researchers. They will take place between February-April 2026. * During the discussion, you will be asked to share your thoughts, experiences, and opinions on birth doulas, including understanding the boundaries of the role, the interprofessional dynamics in birth spaces, and navigating medico-legal frameworks. There are no right or wrong answers—we are interested in your honest perspectives. * Participation in this study is wholly voluntary. Participants will not recieve payment for taking part. * If you are interested in taking part, please fill in the expression of interest form linked below by 5pm MONDAY 23 FEB 2026. If you have any questions, please do get in touch. rd EOI FORM - LINK & QR CODE : https://forms.office.com/e/9ZREnz1SGA
We have now started the next stage of our project: focus groups with (1) birth doulas, (2) healthcare professionals involved with birth and (3) people who have used or considered using a doula during birth in the past 5 years.
Please do share with networks!
@annanelson95.bsky.social
Latest blog post from our birth doula project, with update on activities so far and next steps @annanelson95.bsky.social
There is still time to submit an expression of interest for focus groups so please do share
birthdoulas.mmu.ac.uk/2026/02/17/p...
A pink takeaway coffee cup sits and a hardback book ‘Sex Beyond Yes’ by Quill R Kukla are placed side by side on a train table.
Very excited to be heading down to London for the launch of the ‘Beyond Misinformation?’ project today! Also excited to have two uninterrupted hours to dig into this much anticipated book on the journey 📚
Sharing our surveys for birth doulas and for healthcare professionals (both broadly defined) for a project with @annanelson95.bsky.social on birth doulas and medical law. Please share widely!
Following from our MLR workshop last year, @zainamahmoud.bsky.social and I are organising a workshop on embodiment & colonialism in November! We are grateful to the @slsauk.bsky.social for supporting this event and look forward to what we hope will be a great discussion.
People often express concerns that birth doulas are entirely unregulated, but the reality is a little more nuanced - as @bevclough.bsky.social & I unpack here: birthdoulas.mmu.ac.uk/2025/09/22/b...
The Motherhood Group flyer for Black Maternal Mental Health Week UK 2025: Make Black Mothers Visible
On the theme of countering invisibility, I'm glad to support Black Maternal Mental Health Week UK 2025, led by The Motherhood Group (@TheMotherhoodGroup on Instagram/LinkedIn/TikTok). It’s time to #MakeBlackMothersVisible. #BlackMaternalMentalHealthWeek #BMMHW25 More: themotherhoodgroup.org/bmmhw25/
The Canadian player who is smashing this #RWC25 semi-final in full festival glitter is my new idol ✨
Photo showing three copies of the book Narratives of Consent and Reproductive Subjects in a stack.
Now more people are back this seems like a good time to give another shout out about this NEW edited collection on consent in reproductive care, including chapters from @drsamhalliday.bsky.social @annanelson95.bsky.social @zainamahmoud.bsky.social @emmacave.bsky.social and more
Surveys are now live - link are in the thread!
Doula survey, link: qualtricsxm2w4bhmwzy.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Healthcare professional survey, link: mmu.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
People had abortions today and it didn’t affect their local politicians’ lives in any way!
"Obstetrics is one of the most expensive services provided by hospitals, especially in rural areas, which often see a larger portion of Medicaid patients. With financial hits looming, hospitals are primed to close maternity wards first, and rural areas are particularly vulnerable." @19thnews.org
Despite my best efforts, we are back here… if anyone is looking for a socio-legal / medical law researcher do let me know!
Particularly interested in all things #childbirth, #obstetricviolence #reproductivetechnology and #consent but absolutely not fussy at this stage 📚
Totally agree with yours too
Big thought: any post-interview rejection should come from an actual person within the department (preferably head of school) not a HR system
Oh boy do I have *thoughts* on academic job hunting, institutional processes / practices, (lack of) care and candidate wellbeing.
Women's sport and social activism are closely intertwined in many way, which makes the silence about Palestine at the #WEURO2025 all the louder.
The two images are screenshots of the ‘Urgent Update’ from the All Our Relations GoFundMe page - this is linked in the post. Key sentences about what All Our Relations are doing got support families in Gaza have been highlighted in light purple
All Our Relations are doing brilliant work directly supporting and feeding families in Gaza: www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-...
HONESTLY supporting the Lionesses is starting to feel like supporting Scotland. My body can’t handle it.
An important framing here: “This isn’t just a story about a single miscarriage of justice, it’s also a story about how science can shape & reshape the law, and about all the ways that our ideas of women, of mothers, of motherhood shape the law too - often in ways that are invisible, but intractable”
Today, Five X More has published a comprehensive survey of 1,000+ Black and mixed heritage mothers, who were pregnant between 2021 and 2025.
Their findings are worrying and shine a light on why Black mothers remain 3x more likely to die in pregnancy & childbirth.
1/6 🧵
“The issue doesn’t get the attention it deserves.”
O'Neill's Jennifer Li talks to CRE Daily about the housing crisis threatening US cities ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
www.credaily.com/briefs/housi...
New article! Embodied Experiences of Trans Pregnancy.
Published in the journal Body & Society, this article is part of a special issue on Pregnant Bodies and Embodied Pregnancy. We draw on interviews with trans men and non-binary people to explore the lived, bodily complexities of trans pregnancy.
New article:
✨Relational dynamite: Engagements with kinship at the interface of donor conception & DNA testing
Petra Nordqvist, Leah Gilman, Caroline Redhead, Marie Fox, Nicky Hudson @fimaccallum.bsky.social @lucyfrith.bsky.social from #ConnecteDNA
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
I'm excited for the day when 'the algorithm' can tell the difference between 'I've looked at this Uni course page repeatedly because I'm considering applying to study' AND 'I've painstakingly poured over this page to prepare for an interview/application for a job from which I've since been rejected'
Oh that’s a good suggestion - thank you!
