Journal Page

The Natural (Gentle) Caesarean

Vol. 37, No. 2, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 2 By Jenny Smith The background Caesarean section is the commonest operation globally, and in some UK hospitals the com…   Read more…

Case Study: Biomechanics

Vol. 37, No. 2, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 2 Showcased by Catharine Hart AIMS is proud to showcase the work of Molly O’Brien, who teaches the course Biomechanics…   Read more…

Case Study: Optimal Cord Clamping

Vol. 37, No. 2, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 2 The AIMS PIMS (Physiology Informed Maternity Services) team discusses optimal (delayed or deferred) cord clamping - a…   Read more…

Is it time for an “oxytocin-based” maternity system?

Vol. 37, No. 2, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 2 AIMS comments on a blog post by Toni Harman's blog post Is it time for an “oxytocin-based” maternity system? In her b…   Read more…

Reflections on the birth of my first child, Rory, 43 years ago.

Vol. 37, No. 2, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 2 By Noreen O'Dwyer Hart I love Birthdays, if we are fortunate, they are often so beautifully layered with memories, re…   Read more…

The benefits of physiology-informed maternity services in high risk situations

Vol. 37, No. 2, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 2 By Naomi Glass I was born in 1983 into an Ashkenazi Jewish family, whose roots largely came from central and eastern…   Read more…

Reclaiming Birth: Trusting the Body Within a Physiology-Informed Maternity System

Vol. 37, No. 2, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 2 By Sallyann Beresford In today’s maternity system, the most radical choice it seems a woman can make is to reject int…   Read more…

The Fabric of Birth: Part one

Vol. 37, No. 2, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 2 By Nicole Schlögel “Iliopectineal line, iliopectineal eminence, pubic…”. We are halfway through the eight landmarks o…   Read more…

Transgenerational trauma: a story of one Jewish family

Vol. 37, No. 1, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 My maternal grandmother, Herta, and my paternal grandmother, Mina By Naomi Glass We are all born into a family story.…   Read more…

Nature and nurture: a brief look at epigenetics and transgenerational trauma.

Vol. 37, No. 1, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 Image source By Alex Smith Epigenetics is a fairly new science, but not a newly observed phenomenon. It studies the w…   Read more…

AIMS Physiology-Informed Maternity Services (PIMS) - March 2025

Vol. 37, No. 1, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 Art by Sophie Jenna Latest update from the PIMS team! The NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) rece…   Read more…

Why grandmothers deserve education and support – they are worth it!

Vol. 37, No. 1, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 By Mary Nolan Quite a long time ago, I was at a lecture given by a senior obstetrician whom I had worked under as a s…   Read more…

An interview with Sarah Odling Smee

Vol. 37, No. 1, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 Interview by Leslie Altic What first attracted you to being a midwife, tell us a bit about your journey and how you g…   Read more…

Reflections on becoming a grandmother

Vol. 37, No. 1, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 By Petra Wood My first grandson will be three years old next month. My son and my daughter-in-law decided to marry wh…   Read more…

The vital role of grandmothers in the perinatal period: A personal journey of connection and care

Vol. 37, No. 1, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 By Ruksana Beigi A Grandmother's Embrace In softest whispers, she awaits, A tender heart that gently waits. Through s…   Read more…

Birth trauma: When birth feels like rape

Vol. 37, No. 1, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 Image source By Jacqueline Edwards I’m lying on the bed, legs spread wide, bright lights shining on my genitals while…   Read more…

A conversation with Karrie whose little boy is deaf

Vol. 36, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 4 Interview by Alex Smith Hello Karrie, thank you for agreeing to share your experience with us. Many congratulations o…   Read more…

History and politics of deafness

Vol. 36, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 4 By Meghan Luton Introduction Deafness, defined as a partial or total inability to perceive or understand sound, curre…   Read more…

Why can’t we just give deaf people a leaflet?

Vol. 36, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 4 By Alex Smith For both hearing and deaf people alike, written information (about maternity care, for example) is a on…   Read more…

A Pamphlet of Possibilities

Vol. 36, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 4 By Bine Browne The Association of Radical Midwives (ARM) was formed almost fifty years ago in response to the increas…   Read more…

AIMS attends the NHS Confed Expo 2024

Vol. 36, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 4 By Jo Dagustun In this piece, one of our Campaigns Team volunteers illustrates how attending conferences such as the…   Read more…

Support for deaf and deafblind women in the maternity setting

Vol. 36, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 4 My personal view on the provision of communication support for deaf and deafblind women in the maternity setting. By…   Read more…

The BSL Birth Certificate

Vol. 36, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 4 Tom, and his and Paula’s daughter, Hazel (sign name ‘big smile’) By Salli Ward When Tom Lichy and his partner Paula G…   Read more…

Pregnancy and hearing: Did you know?

Vol. 36, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 4 Image source By Alex Smith Did you know that one in three pregnant women develop tinnitus compared with one in ten wh…   Read more…

Latest Content

Journal

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What has the AIMS Campaigns Team be…

AIMS Journal, 2026, Vol 38, No 1 By The AIMS Campaigns Team Published written outputs: 8th November: AIMS Response to the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan Consultation 11th Nov…

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Antenatal Education in Imaginary Hi…

AIMS Journal, 2026, Vol 38, No 1 An Editorial foreword: As an antenatal educator I would often invite the expectant parents to imagine that their baby had safely arrived…

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Editorial: What is there to learn?…

AIMS Journal, 2026, Vol 38, No 1 By Alex Smith Welcome to the March edition of the AIMS journal. This issue explores the question of antenatal education. Antenatal educat…

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Events

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2nd Migrant Maternal Health and Ear…

The Maternity Stream Research Network invites academics, activists, practitioners, policymakers and those with lived experience to share examples of good practice of init…

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AIMS Workshop: Understanding Twin T…

Stephanie Ernst, founder of the TAPS Support Foundation, will be explaining the issues that can arise in different types of twin pregnancies, and what twins parents need…

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ARM Conference 2026

Midwifery Must Matter! Honouring our past to shape our future ARM’s 50th anniversary conference At a time when UK maternity services face ongoing pressures, including mid…

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Latest Campaigns

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Should we appoint a Maternity Commi…

Forthcoming parliamentary debate on the petition calling for the appointment of a Maternity Commissioner ‘to improve maternity care for mums and babies’ is scheduled for…

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AIMS Submission to the National Mat…

Thank you for inviting organisations to offer evidence to the investigation. AIMS has welcomed this investigation, and we stand ready to support it, drawing on our partic…

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Continuity of Carer - Speaking note…

London, Wednesday 4th March 2026 A key component of ensuring maternity service provision that is safe, personalised and equitable, is the provision of a robust and sustai…

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