Billie Hunter CBE, Emerita Professor of Midwifery at Cardiff University, is internationally esteemed as a researcher and author, particularly for her focus on the emotional wellbeing of midwives. She has lectured across the globe and held a number of visiting chairs, including current roles as Visiting Professor at University of Surrey and Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.

A midwife since 1979, and the first RCM Professor of Midwifery, she has made an outstanding contribution to midwifery evidence through her research, publications and advocacy for midwives. Her research into the emotional aspects of being a midwife has been a powerful voice in supporting the emotional wellbeing of midwives in order to improve the care of women and their families. Her work has made an important contribution to the recognition of ‘caring for carers’ globally.

She is the former chair of The Iolanthe Midwifery Trust, and founder and chair of the All Wales Midwifery and Reproductive Health Research Forum. She also helped to set up the RCM oral history archive. Until retirement, Billie was director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Midwifery Development in Europe, based at Cardiff University, which collaborates with WHO to strengthen midwifery education and practice in the European Region and globally. She is currently a Trustee for the Birth Partner Project, which provides wraparound volunteer support for pregnant women seeking sanctuary in Cardiff.

In 2018 she was awarded a CBE for her services to midwifery and midwifery education in the UK and Europe.

Contact details: HunterB1@cardiff.ac.uk