As a midwife, my journey has always been anchored in the belief that maternity care should be compassionate, inclusive, and culturally safe for everyone. This year’s theme: Standing Firm in Pride and Power resonates deeply with my work because it is not only about the clinical support we provide; it’s about dismantling inequities, honouring lived experiences, and reshaping systems that have historically failed Black and Brown women and birthing people.
From the very beginning of my midwifery career, I understood that birth is political, and too often, marginalised communities are left unheard, unseen, and underserved. Black and Brown mothers disproportionately experience higher rates of maternal morbidity, birth trauma, and systemic bias. These disparities are not new, but the time for performative concern has long passed. We must stand firm in our commitment to structural change.
That’s why advocacy sits at the heart of everything I do. Whether in frontline care, education, or innovation, I’ve dedicated my work to closing these racial gaps in maternity outcomes and restoring trust in the system.
Receiving the Mary Seacole Award was a pivotal moment not just as a recognition of my commitment to equity, but as a reflection of the legacy I honour: one of resistance, healing, and leadership. Being invited to 10 Downing Street to share my work was not a personal accolade alone, it was a message that our voices belong in the rooms where decisions are made.
To address the emotional and cultural isolation many people experience during pregnancy, I created Vina, the UK’s first culturally intelligent, all-inclusive maternity app. It’s more than a digital tool it’s a community lifeline. It connects users from all backgrounds with culturally relevant resources, peer support, and empowering birth planning tools designed to reflect the realities and strengths of their identities.
This work is rooted in the belief that maternal care must be co-designed with the people it serves. It must reflect the voices, traditions, and wisdom of our communities not just clinical protocol. Vina helps bring that vision to life by creating a space where everyone feels supported, informed, and seen especially those historically left out of the mainstream narrative.
Standing firm in power is not just about personal resilience. It’s about collective advocacy, where midwives, students, educators, and policymakers take action to challenge the systems that cause harm.
I believe we all have a role to play from university lecture halls to hospital boardrooms in reimagining what inclusive care looks like. That includes decolonising education, diversifying leadership, and embedding cultural safety into every aspect of maternity care.
To the next generation of midwives: know that your voice, presence, and passion matter. Your future in this profession isn’t just about learning how to deliver babies it’s about learning how to deliver justice.
Leadership doesn’t start with a title. It starts with a choice to see, to speak, and to serve differently. You are the future of maternal care, and we need you to stand firm, speak truth, and lead boldly.
As we mark Black History Month, let us honour not only where we’ve come from but the systems we are determined to change. Standing Firm in Pride and Power means building maternity care that heals, empowers, and protects. It means telling new stories of strength, resistance, and rebirth.
This is the future I am committed to building. One community, one voice, one birth at a time.
