What should midwives be researching – we want to hear from the global majority community say RCM

on 22 March 2024

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has launched a Research Prioritisation Project to understand what the top 10 future areas of maternity research should be. We want to hear from anyone across the UK who interacts with maternity services, so midwives, maternity support workers (MSWs), students and women and their families. We especially want to hear from people from the global majority.

The RCM want every midwife to be armed with the tools and knowledge to give the best possible care that women and their families deserve. Numerous studies and statistics show that women from the global majority have significantly poorer maternal outcomes. We need to make sure we are researching the areas that support the needs of women and families from all races and ethnicities, not just white women. To do this we need the perceptive of those from the global majority.

The project is important as maternity research receives less funding than many other areas of healthcare. In partnership with the James Lind Alliance (JLA), the RCM is bringing together a range of stakeholders to discover the gaps in evidence across all areas of midwifery practice and maternity care. We want to agree which are the most important for future research to address. The final top 10 research priorities will be championed by the RCM and other organisations in order to influence funders and policy makers.

The survey can be found here. We have extended the survey deadline until 5 May to give more time for people from the global majority to take part. It takes less than ten minutes to complete.

More information on the Research Prioritisation Project can be found on our website.