Dr Nicola Savory’s mission to revolutionise maternity care: “I want to lead my own research!”

Dr Nicola Savory, a Clinical Midwife at the University Hospital of Wales and Research Fellow at King’s College London, is set to advance her work in reproductive health and childbirth, having been awarded a Personal Award Accelerator award in April 2024 from the Health and Care Research Wales Faculty.

Dr Savory’s transition from midwifery to research began during her degree studies. She said: “During my degree, I did a research module, and I realised that research is another way we can provide informed care for mums and babies.”

This sparked her passion for research and led her to pursue a PhD in perinatal mental health. She explained: “My PhD focused on mild to moderate antenatal mental health during pregnancy. It was driven by recognising that there was no support for anxiety and depression in the early stages of pregnancy.”

Dr Savory’s dedication to addressing these gaps in maternity care is evident in her subsequent work. The personal award allowed her time to work up an application with Professor Julia Sanders on a new study to explore the long-term physical and psychological outcomes associated with the induction of labour.

She added: “From my clinical experience, I noticed the distress and complaints from mums who have had their labour induced. My proposal aims to uncover the issues within the induction process and improve the service by identifying potential areas for intervention, in particular reducing the rates of post-traumatic stress disorders.”

Dr Savory praised the crucial support and opportunities provided by the personal award. She said: “The funding is amazing because it gives me dedicated time each week to work on my development and funding applications for further personal awards. It also provides opportunities for valuable networking and learning experiences.

Being part of the Faculty allows me to meet with other researchers from different fields, which is really beneficial.”

Dr Savory’s goal is to lead her own research projects and make significant contributions to maternity care. She concluded:

I want to be designing and leading my own studies, making a lasting impact on maternity care to improve outcomes for mothers and babies.”

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