Journal Page

What has the AIMS Campaigns Team been up to this quarter?

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

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 2 By The AIMS Campaigns Team Published written outputs: 1st March: AIMS letter to Professor Mary Renfrew on her report…   Read more…

An open letter of thanks to Catharine Hart, Campaigns Team Volunteer and Physiology-Informed Maternity Services (PIMS) campaign lead.

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

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 2 From Alex Smith and all your friends from AIMS Dearest Catharine, The hugest thank you for being the guest editor for…   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…

Becoming a grandparent

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

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 By Anne Glover ‘ If I’d known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I’d have them first .’ Lois Wyse Expec…   Read more…

Being a grandmother

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

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 Editor's note: In writing this delightful account of being a grandmother, Alex's little granddaughter has added a few…   Read more…

Transition to Grandmothering

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

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 By Anne Hemsley I love being a grandmother, I simply cannot believe that I have been awarded this privileged position…   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…

Being Nana

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

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 By Salli Ward I chose to be Nana because I never had a Nana. I had Ordinary Grandma and Other Grandma but no Nana. My…   Read more…

Grandmother’s Day

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

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 By Maddie McMahon I am writing this on Grandmother’s Day: January 21st. But sadly, no one is marking it. No chocolate…   Read more…

What’s going on in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland

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

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 By, the AIMS Campaigns Team Scotland Maternity & Midwifery Festival 26th November 2024 This online event was a good o…   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…

Silencing the grandmothers? Not AIMS!

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

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 By Alex Smith Welcome to the March 2025 edition of the AIMS journal. This issue is about grandparents, and about gran…   Read more…

What has the AIMS Campaigns Team been up to this quarter?

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

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 Written outputs: Presentation for All Volunteers Meeting workshop on NHS Change: www.aims.org.uk/campaigning/item/cha…   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…

Birth Activists Briefing: The latest UK Maternity Statistics: where to find them and what they can tell you

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

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 1 By the AIMS Campaigns Team In this article we will summarise some of the key points of data about the maternity servi…   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…

A child is born into the world and their world is in silence

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

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 4 Image source By a hearing mother of a deaf baby I can share with you my experience as a hearing mother of a child who…   Read more…

Hearing impaired and giving birth during the pandemic

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

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 4 By Helen Jones-Grace I was pregnant during the first lockdown and gave birth during the second lockdown in February 2…   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…

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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AIMS Workshop: Focusing on Inductio…

Join us for one of our series of interactive online AIMS workshops, " Focusing on Induction of Labour ". Nadia Higson (principal author of "The AIMS Guide to Induction of…

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AIMS Workshop: Wellbeing

AIMS is delighted to be hosting a Wellbeing workshop delivered by Ruth Weston , veteran birth activist, AIMS volunteer and author of 'Born Stroppy Make Change Happen'. Th…

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AIMS Workshop: Focusing on Rights i…

Join us for one of our series of interactive online AIMS workshops, " Focusing on Rights in Pregnancy and Birth ". Emma Ashworth (principal author of "The AIMS Guide to Y…

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Latest Campaigns

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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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Rebirth Festival, Athens, April 202…

Background: AIMS is a member of ENCA - the European Network of Childbirth Associations 1 . Each year, one of the member associations hosts a two day gathering of birth ac…

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AIMS responds to Woman’s Hour Cover…

The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, led by Valerie Amos, published an interim report on February 26, 2026. This was covered on the BBC’s Woman’s Hour progr…

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