Journal Page

Screening for twins: Why good guidelines matter

Vol. 36, No. 1, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 1 By Stephanie Ernst Multiple pregnancies come with a lot of additional worries and risks, and I know that a lot of us…   Read more…

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

Vol. 36, No. 1, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 1 By the AIMS Campaigns Team Written outputs: BICS (British Intrapartum Care Society) conference poster on our campaign…   Read more…

Editorial: I am writing to make a complaint

Vol. 36, No. 1, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 1 By Alex Smith Welcome to the 2024 March issue of the AIMS journal. The theme for this quarter focuses on the experien…   Read more…

Playing the Long Game: Threads of Protest and Human Rights in Childbirth

Vol. 36, No. 1, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2024, Vol 36, No 1 By Gemma McKenzie What do obstetric violence, human rights in childbirth, and crochet have in common? Well, it’s quit…   Read more…

The Emotional Weather of Postnatal Life

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 By Alex Smith I often hear new parents saying that they wish they had known what life with a new baby was really like…   Read more…

Just ‘birth’: the phenomenon of birth without a healthcare professional

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 Editor’s note: AIMS is honoured to present Mariamni’s research study in which she interviews 10 women who gave birth…   Read more…

I was nearly one of those induction statistics

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 Editor’s note: While Jo remembers her ‘nearly induction’ experience with fortitude and pragmatism - I love the way th…   Read more…

Perinatal mental health: A preventative approach

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 By Mary Nolan Some Inconvenient Truths Here are some uncomfortable facts that you may well be familiar with: In the U…   Read more…

Putting a spotlight on women’s health

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 By Charlotte Edun In September 2023, AIMS was invited to speak on a panel titled, ‘Health inequalities and different…   Read more…

Postpartum: A short story

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 Editor’s note: This is a fictional account of the state of mind of a mother suffering postnatal illness. As such, it…   Read more…

Maternity services not wanting to listen and gatekeeping the telling of service user experience: a tale from September 2023

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 By Jo Dagustun In 2016 in England, Better Births was published. That report launched a huge programme of work, with g…   Read more…

Birth Activist Briefing - The new NICE guideline on Intrapartum Care: what has changed?

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 By the AIMS Campaigns Team The updated guideline was published on 29 September 2023 and you can read it here . The gu…   Read more…

Three Christmas Wishes

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 By Katharine Handel Christmas is traditionally a time for wishes. It’s also, somewhat more mundanely, a time for list…   Read more…

Editorial - Mixed feelings

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 Paintings by Andrea Mantegna and Harry Morley By Alex Smith Welcome to the December issue of the AIMS journal, which…   Read more…

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

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 Other quarterly updates By the AIMS Campaigns Team Written outputs: 24th August: Open letter to NHS Confederation abo…   Read more…

An interview with Dr Rebecca Moore from Make Birth Better (MBB)

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 Interview by Alex Smith Hello Rebecca, thank you for agreeing to answer some questions about your work with Make Birt…   Read more…

Influencing the future of midwifery and maternity research

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 By Jude Field and Jenny Cunningham The background to the project Maternity services are complex, and multiple element…   Read more…

Mariamni Plested's research methodology - Just ‘birth’: the phenomenon of birth without a healthcare professional

Vol. 35, No. 4, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 4 Just ‘birth’: the phenomenon of birth without a healthcare professional Mariamni Plested Method This article forms pa…   Read more…

Editorial - We were there

Vol. 35, No. 3, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

Editorial: We were there Image source By Alex Smith Welcome to the September issue of the journal. We open with four different birth-related memories.…   Read more…

Consent to Medical Treatment UK 2023: Dream Mirage or Nemesis?

Vol. 35, No. 3, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 3 Editor's note: You may or may not hold strong views about vaccination, but at the very heart of AIMS ethos is the pri…   Read more…

Why I am taking a break

Vol. 35, No. 3, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 3 In this extraordinary piece of writing, Doula Nicola Goodall presents her ‘list of experiences’ since 2020. In places…   Read more…

The Role of a Doula as a Container

Vol. 35, No. 3, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 3 By Tomoko Holloway Introduction The journey of becoming a mother is a life-altering experience that goes beyond the p…   Read more…

Doulas Supporting Neurodivergent Birth

Vol. 35, No. 3, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 3 By Victoria White Neurodiversity is the concept that all people vary in terms of human brain function and cognition,…   Read more…

European Network of Childbirth Associations (ENCA) Annual Meetings: An open letter to all participants from the UK delegate to the 2023 Meeting in Budapest, Jo Dagustun

Vol. 35, No. 3, ISSN 2516-5852 (Online)

AIMS Journal, 2023, Vol 35, No 3 Dear ENCAs Thank you so much for welcoming me so warmly to this year’s annual meetings. I am writing this open letter…   Read more…

Latest Content

Journal

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Disrupting breastfeeding confidence…

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 3 By Alex Smith An increasing number of new mothers begin breastfeeding following a long drawn-out process of induction of labour. Currentl…

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Editorial: Thinking about breastfee…

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 3 Welcome to the September 2025 issue of the AIMS journal. The theme for this quarter is breastfeeding. An important issue that emerged as…

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A Conversation with Kate Evans, aut…

AIMS Journal, 2025, Vol 37, No 3 Interview by Catharine Hart Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed by AIMS, Kate. I love that this book doesn't try to sound authoritat…

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Events

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Scotland Maternity and Midwifery Fe…

Nine events across the UK and Ireland – all of them free of charge to all practising midwives, academics, allied healthcare professionals and student midwives. The profes…

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National Maternity Safety Conferenc…

The National Maternity Safety Conference is back! This year’s event will take place at the Hilton Metropole in Birmingham on 25th September 2025 . Building on the success…

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AIMS Workshop: Building Allies

AIMS is delighted to be hosting a series of Tools for Change campaigning workshops to be led by Ruth Weston. Ruth's journey of Birth Activism and Maternity Service Campai…

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Latest Campaigns

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AIMS Letter to Wes Streeting to wel…

AIMS has written to Wes Streeting MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to welcome his announcement of a National Maternity Review, offer our support for the…

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AIMS review of the Big Baby trial

Introduction There has long been uncertainty over whether there is any benefit to early induction of labour when a baby is suspected to be ‘big’, known as ‘Large for Gest…

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AIMS Letter to Professor Mary Renfr…

AIMS has written to Professor Mary Renfrew to thank her for taking the lead on reviewing maternity services in Northern Ireland. Her report is the first of its kind to ta…

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