Tagged / CMWH

BU Research blog in 2023 grows into 2026 publication

open access, Publishing, writing

What started as a BU Research Blog in September 2023 became a properly published paper last week when the Nepal Journal of Public Health published our paper ‘The Final Hurdle: Proofreading your Academic Paper’ [1].  This paper started life as short BU Research Blog with the title ‘Proofreading your article accepted for publication’.  After sharing further experiences about proofreading mishaps the four authors decided to write a paper which is both a reminder to all academics, and piece of advice to perhaps more junior authors.

This paper is the latest in a long line of publications by the authors in the field of health and social care on different aspects of academic writing and publishing.  Earlier articles covered, for example, the writing process, the role of the editor, advice of constructing titles, plagiarism, and many more [2-40].

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

 

References:

  1. Harvey, O., Arnold, R., Ireland, J., van Teijlingen, E. (2026). The Final Hurdle: Proofreading your Academic Paper. Nepal Journal of Public Health, 3(1), 58–62. https://doi.org/10.70280/njph(2026)v3i1.65
  2. van Teijlingen E (2004), Why I can’t get any academic writing done, Medical Sociology News 30(3): 62-63. britsoc.co.uk/media/26334/MSN_Nov_2004.pdf
  3. Pitchforth, E, Porter, M, van Teijlingen, ER, Forrest Keenan K. (2005) Writing up and presenting qualitative research in family planning & reproductive health care, Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care 31(2): 132-35. http://jfprhc.bmj.com/content/31/2/132.full.pdf+html
  4. van Teijlingen E. (2008) RAE pulls academics away from applied multidisciplinary health promotion research International Journal of Health Promotion & Education 46: 116.
  5. van Teijlingen E, Ryan, K., Alexander, J., Marchant, S. (2011) The Research Excellence Framework (REF): new developments to assess research in higher education institutions and its impact on society. MIDIRS 21(3): 298-301.
  6. Hartwell, H., van Teijlingen, E., Parker, J. (2013) Nutrition; Effects of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) Nutrition & Food Science 43(1): 74-77.
  7. Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, BD. (2013) Writing an Abstract for a Scientific Conference, Kathmandu University Medical Journal 11(3): 262-65. http://www.kumj.com.np/issue/43/262-265.pdf
  8. van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., Sathian, B. (2014) Finding the right title for your article: Advice for academic authors, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 4(1): 344-347. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/10138/8265
  9. van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Bick, D. (2014) Who should be an author on your academic paper? Midwifery 30: 385-386.
  10. Hall, J., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E. (2015) The journal editor: friend or foe? Women & Birth 28(2): e26-e29.
  11. van Teijlingen E, Simkhada P (2016) Publishing in journals of the NepJOL family. INASP website http://blog.inasp.info/publishing-journals-nepjol-family/
  12. Pradhan, A.K., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2017) Predatory publishing: a great concern for authors, Medical Science 5(4): 43.
  13. van Teijlingen, E.R., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, A., Aryal, N., Panday, S. (2021). Publishing, identifiers & metrics: Playing the numbers game. Health Prospect, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.3126/hprospect.v20i1.37391
  14. Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P.P., Hundley, V. with Shreesh, K. (Eds.) (2022) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books [ISBN: 9789937117609]
  15. Arnold, R., Ireland, J., Mahato, P.,
  16. (2022) Writing and publishing a reflective paper: Three case studies, Welhams Academic Journal 1(1): 4-11. https://college.angels.edu.np/images/Academic_Jornal/Welhams_Academic_Journal_Vol-1.pdf
  17. van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P.P., Wasti, S.P. (2022) Introduction, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 1-4.
  18. Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Swoveet, P. (2022) Writing an Academic Paper, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 6-14.
  19. Hundley, V., Luce, A., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Collaborative Writing for Publication, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 15-19.
  20. van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Shanker, S. (2022) Selecting an Appropriate Journal and Submitting your Paper, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 20-31.
  21. van Teijlingen, E., Thapa, D., Marahatta, S.B., Sapkota, J.L., Regmi, P. Sathian, B. (2022) Editors and Reviewers: Roles and Responsibilities, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 32-37.
  22. van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Hundley, V, Dhakal Rai, S., Simkhada, P., Sathian, B. (2022) Identifying an appropriate Title, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 39-47.
  23. Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, B, Acharya D.R. (2022) Writing an Abstract for a Scientific Conference, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 48-56.
  24. Subedi, M., van Teijlingen, E., Baniya J., Sijapati, B. (2022) Writing the Introduction and Background, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 57-67.
  25. van Teijlingen, E., Pitchforth, E., Keenan Forrest, K., Mahato, P. (2022) Writing a Qualitative Paper, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 88-97.
  26. Wasti, S.P, Devkota, B., Bhatta, D.N., Pitchforth, E., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Writing the Introduction and Background, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 112-120.
  27. Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2022) Writing up the Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 121-129
  28. Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Simkhada, B., Subedi, M., van Teijlingen, E., Wasti, S.P., Hundley, V, Khatri, R. (2022) Being Ethical in Writing and Publishing, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 153-161.
  29. van Teijlingen, E., Venter, K. (2022) Writing a Book Review, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 162-167.
  30. Devkota, B., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V, Wasti, S.P. (2022) Writing a Research Proposal, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 168-175.
  31. Wasti, S.P. Regmi, P.R., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2022) Writing a PhD Proposal, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 176-183.
  32. Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Converting your Master’s or Doctoral Thesis into an Academic Paper for Publication, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 184-189.
  33. van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., Acharya, J., Silwal, R.C., Wasti, S.P. (2022) Academic Writing: Final Thoughts, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 201-20
  34. Harvey, O., van Teijlingen, A., Regmi, P.R., Ireland, J., Rijal, A., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2022) Co-authors, colleagues, and contributors: Complexities in collaboration and sharing lessons on academic writing, Health Prospect 21(1):1-3. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/HPROSPECT/article/view/39320/31432
  35. van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Sathian, B., Simkhada, P., Robinson, J., Banerjee, I. (2022). The Art of the Editorial. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 12(1):1135–38. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v12i1.43104
  36. Harvey, O., Taylor, A., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Struggling to reply to reviewers: Some advice for novice researchers. Health Prospect, 21(2):19-22.
  37. Simkhada, B., van Teijlingen, A., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E.R. (2024) ChatGPT: Challenges to editors and examiners. Health Prospect, 23(1): 21–24. https://doi.org/10.3126/hprospect.v23i1.60819
  38. van Teijlingen, E., Subedi, M., Parker, S., Khattri, M.B. (2024) The Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Academic Writing and Publishing Papers, Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology & Anthropology, 18(2): 1-4. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/DSAJ/article/view/73358
  39. van Teijlingen, E., Balen, J., Regmi, P., Rushton, S., Simkhada, P., Aryal, N. (2025). Bridging Research and Policy: Practical Tips for Writing Policy Briefs. Journal of Health Promotion, 13(1): 89–96. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v13i1.87170
  40. Pandey, R., Khattri, M.B., Subedi, M., Dixit, K.M., van Teijlingen, E. (2026) Navigating Plagiarism in Social Science Research: Epistemic Re-framing or Unethical Redundancy? Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology & Anthropology, 20(1): 1-6.

 

Joint NHS -BU article published on Midwifery & Public Health

Today Discover Public Health published a new joint paper written by University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust (UHD) and Bournemouth University staff.  This latest paper ‘The evolving relationship between public health and midwifery in the United Kingdom’ [1] appeared in the open access journal Discover Public Health. The authors are: Beth Fletcher, Public Health Lead Maternity Services at UHD, Jillian Ireland, bank midwife and former Professional Midwifery Advocate at UHD as well as Visiting Faculty in BU’s Faculty of Health, Environment & Health Sciences, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, co-director of BU’s Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health.

The authors had originally submitted the paper under the title ‘UK Midwifery and Public Health: Perfect partners or unhappy bedfellows?’ but one of the reviewers (and the editor) thought the more neutral ”The evolving relationship between public health and midwifery in the United Kingdom’ was better suited.

There is a cautionary tale as the authors were under the impression, at the time of submission, that Discover Public Health was still a journal in which one could publish without paying a so-called APC (article Processing Charge).  It turned out that this was no longer the case, and although Bournemouth University has a deal with Springer, the publisher of Discover Public Health, this is only to the value of 15% of the APC.  Since publising in the journal is expensive at £ 1,790.00 per article Bournemouth University had large additional amount.

References:

  1.  Fletcher, B., Ireland, J., van Teijlingen, E. (2026) ‘The evolving relationship between public health and midwifery in the United Kingdom, Discover Public Health, 23;1330. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12982-026-02740-1

 

 

New interdisciplinary paper accepted for publication

international, open access, Women's Academic Network

Today we heard from the Editor in Chief of the Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences that our paper ‘Ethical Entrepreneurship in Pharmacy: An Interdisciplinary Solution to a Global Public Health Problem‘ has been accepted for publication [1].  This paper has three Bournemouth academics as co-author: Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Sukanya Ayatakshi-Endow and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. The paper is truly interdisciplinary, the six authors have disciplinary backgrounds in: pharmacy, health education, public health, business studies, economics, health services research and sociology. 

This viewpoint offers a different way of looking at the worldwide problem of the increased use of antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance. In low-income countries, such as Nepal, pharmacies have a key role in dispensing medicine, and local pharmacies often provide health care advice in rural communities. However, the way many pharmacies operate can easily lead to unethical practices that are harmful to the health of their recipients, but also to the wider population. Such dangerous business practices involve inappropriate prescription and dispensing of medicine (i.e. antibiotics). Public health professionals have promoted better regulation and education to reduce the use of antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance. These approaches have an important place to play, but in this paper, we propose one particular intervention, namely the training of community pharmacy shop owners in sustainable and ethical entrepreneurship. To offer greater insights into the issue we have produced a theoretical framework. We suggest interventions should be co-created with all relevant stakeholders to change perceptions of entrepreneurship, offer management training, thus promoting an ethical and sustainable business culture, and in the long run, improve pharmacy education in these areas.

The Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences is an Open Access journal, hence freely available to read when it gets published.

Reference:

  1. Regmi, P.R., Ayatakshi-Endow, S., Rajkarnikar, R., van Teijlingen, E., Khanal, D.P., Poudel, R.S. (2026) Ethical Entrepreneurship in Pharmacy: An Interdisciplinary Solution to a Global Public Health Problem?” Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences (EJMS) (accepted July 2026).

Three NIHR Internships awarded at BU

Awarded & submitted bids, NHS, PG research, Women's Academic Network

Congratulations to Susara Blunden, Christinia Bempomaah and Rebecca Lovedale who has been awarded an NIHR Internship starting the end of September at Bournemouth University (BU).
Christinia Bempomaah is cancer nurse at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust (UHD) her supervisor will be Dr. Lindsay Welch, Associate Professor of Nursing Practice, in a joint BU-UHD appointment, with a second supervisor to be appointed.
Susara is a research delivery midwife with UHD as well as a M.Res. student at BU.  During her internship she will be undertaking PPIE looking at the acceptability of using AI to measure blood pressure in pregnancy. This will focus on working with communities whose maternal and neonatal outcomes are most affected by hypertensive diseases of pregnancy in coastal and rural communities.  Susara will be supported by Dr. Kate Jupp and Prof. Mel Hughes at BU’s Public Involvement in Education & Research (PIER) team, Dr. Lindsay Welch, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

Whilst Rebecca Lovedale is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner at Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust (DHCUFT) her focuses for the NIHR internship with be on urgent care and her supervisors will be Dr. Lindsay Welch as well as BU’s Senior Lecturer In Paramedic Science, Dr. Pete Phillips.
Congratulations to all.

Prof. Dr. Edwin van Teijlingen

UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor

BU contributions to successful Global Health conference

conferences, international, Publishing, writing

Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen attended this week’s Global Consortium for Public Health Research (GCPHR) 4th Annual Conference at the University of Huddersfield.  The conference was very well attended with delegates from India, Nepal, Ghana, Finland and the UK.  BU’s contribution included a poster on the recently completed study on kidney disease in Nepalese migrant workers, a study funded by The Colt Foundation.

Prof. Chandra Kala Sharma, President of Nursing Association of Nepal and Dr. Bibha Simkhada, Reader in Nursing at the University of Huddersfield presented on ‘Implementing Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in Nursing in Nepal’.  In this very topical presentation they highlighted the importance of the research conducted in Nepal by UK universities (which included Bournemouth University) in getting the regulations changed in Nepal around CPD.  This effect of research into CPD in Nursing will make a useful REF Impact Case Study.

Both Pramod and Edwin chaired a session on different days of the conference.  Whilst Prof. van Teijlingen gave an invited presentation on the topic of ‘Equitable participation on academic publications’.    He also facilitated a Round Table Discussion with five selected panel members on the final day.

CMWH well-represented at the International Confederation of Midwives’ 34th Congress

Researchers from the Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health shared their expertise at the recent 34th Triennial ICM Congress in Lisbon, Portugal.

Presentations included workshops by Dr Juliet Wood – Supporting student midwife confidence to facilitate physiologic birth: a workshop for clinical and academic faculty and Dr Laura Iannuzzi – Rest or arrest? A workshop to advance knowledge and skills to support women, families and teams when dealing with a slowing or pausing labour.

Laura Stedman presented her work on The impact of neonatal intensive care admission at term following gestational diabetes mellitus: a neglected area.
.
Dr Dominique Mylod and Prof Vanora Hundley had poster presentations on their work in the early phase of labour: Can we identify women who will need additional support in the early (latent) phase of labour? and Supporting women in early labour: an interdisciplinary digital approach.
.
You can read the abstracts here

 

 

 

CMWH researcher highlights disparities in early labour information

Congratulations to Maryam Malekian on her presentation at the Royal College of Midwives’ symposium on the top 10 maternity research priorities.

This presentation highlighted the disparities in online information for women in the early phase of labour.

The study found that only 49% of 146 hospital websites in the UK provided guidance specific to early labour or included a dedicated section on the latent phase. There was marked variation in availability, accessibility, and content. Accessibility was often limited, with few multilingual resources, alternative formats, or inclusive visual materials. Most guidance was text-heavy, with minimal use of multimodal or user-friendly formats and limited representation of diverse populations.

The paper has been published as part of a special issue with CMWH senior lecturer Laura Iannuzzi as guest editor.

Malekian M, Mylod M, Tariq H, Hundley V (2026) Equity and inclusion: a review of NHS and HSC online information for women in the early phase of labour. Healthcare 14(13), 1911 https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14131911

BU students’ publishing success

BRIAN, NHS, PG research, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

This week the international Open Access journal PLOS One published a paper co-written by BU staff and students.  The paper is called ‘Antenatal education for labour and postpartum pain: A scoping review of content, delivery approaches, evidence gaps, and lived experiences‘ [1].  This scoping review involves two M.Res students and one Ph.D. student and two of these students were originally BU undergraduate students.
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Reference:
  1. Sloyan E, Leddy E, Clark C, Dufour S, Harper R, Dunford A, Elam, Öl. (2026) Antenatal education for labour and postpartum pain: A scoping review of content, delivery approaches, evidence gaps, and lived experiences. PLoS One 21(6): e0330399. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0330399

Official book launch at Bournemouth University

international, Publishing, writing

Last night Bournemouth University hosted the official launch at of the book Early Labour and Maternity Care: Research for Practice published by Routledge.  This edited collection was led by Prof. Vanora Hundley in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) and University of Stirling Prof. Helen Cheyne.  Several BU staff as well as a current and a former BU student student have contributed to various chapters.  CMWH academics include in this edited volume are: Prof. Carol Clark and Dr. Dominique Mylod, our current BU M.Res. student Maryam Malekian and the former BU Ph.D. student and former staff member who contributed a chapter is Dr. Preeti Mahato (currently based at Royal Holloway, University of London).

The book launch was opened by Prof. Rick Stafford as Associate Dean – Research, Innovation & Enterprise in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences.  This was followed by  short presentations from various contributors to the book.   Prof. Hundley highlighted about the book: “The early phase of labour is an area of tension for women, midwives and other healthcare professionals. Current services often fail women, putting the onus on them to decide when to come into hospital and then sending them home ‘not in labour’, creating a revolving door that can lead to anxiety, stress, fear and negative communication between women and midwives. This book explores why this happens and the challenges that it places on women and the midwives that care for them. It works to define what “early labour” is and teases out some of the issues that definitions of the early phase of labour raise for both woman-centred care and the management of services. Presenting innovative approaches to practice in this contested area, this book includes vignettes from women exploring their experiences of the early phase of labour in different models of care. Key point summaries and boxed recommendations for practice help readers transfer their learning to practice.”

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

First publication for two CMWH PhD students

NHS, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

Congratulations to CMWH doctoral student Jennah Evans who has published the first paper from her PhD in the Journal of Human Lactation. The scoping review protocol outlines a transparent and reproducible method for investigating the relationship between stress and the human milk ejection reflex, addressing a significant knowledge gap in the literature.  Jennah and her supervisors (including CMWH member Dr Dominique Mylod) are also aiming to improve understanding of D-MER, a challenging condition associated with intense negative emotions during breastfeeding.

Congratulations are also due a second  CMWH doctoral student Louise Barton, whose paper ‘Southampton’s approach to smoking cessation has been accepted by MIDIRS Midwifery Digest and the paper will be pubished its June issue.  Smoking during pregnancy is the leading yet preventable causes a whole range of illnesses.  Louise’s PhD is an assessment of Southampton’s Midwifery-led Integrated Antenatal Care Pathway.  Her PhD is supervised by CMWH academics Dr. Daisy Wiggins and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.
References:
Evans, J.M., Paul, R., Wezyk, A.B., Mylod, D. (2026) Exploring the Association Between Stress and the Experience of the Milk Ejection Reflex: A Scoping Review Protocol. Journal of Human Lactation Online First https://doi.org/10.1177/08903344261433846

Barton, L., van Teijlingen, E., Wiggins, D., Loader, R.-A., White, A. (2026) Southampton’s approach to smoking cessation, MIDIRS Midwifery Digest, 36(2): 145–151.

Another CMWH publication

Congratulations to CMWH doctoral student Jennah Evans who has published the first paper from her PhD in the Journal of Human Lactation. The scoping review protocol outlines a transparent and reproducible method for investigating the relationship between stress and the human milk ejection reflex, addressing a significant knowledge gap in the literature.

Jennah and her supervisors (including CMWH member Dr Dominique Mylod) are also aiming to improve understanding of D-MER, a challenging condition associated with intense negative emotions during breastfeeding.

 

Congratulations to the team.

Evans JM, Paul R, and Mylod D (2026) Exploring the Association Between Stress and the Experience of the Milk Ejection Reflex: A Scoping Review Protocol. Journal of Human Lactation https://doi.org/10.1177/0890334426143384

New chapters published in maternity book on risk

international, PG research, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

A few days ago Palgrave Macmillen published Risk and Uncertainty in Maternity Care: Putting Risk in Its Place.  This edited book examines the way risk is defined and employed in maternity care across the world.  The 25 chapters reflect in different ways on how the management of risk shapes the organization and experience of maternity services. Drawing from investigations of the way risk operates in contemporary society, the authors challenge taken-for-granted understandings of risk in maternity care and early parenting, showing how risk is not simply a value-free assessment of potential harms but is, in fact, a complex social and political way of seeing, knowing about, and performing pregnancy and birth.

This edited volume contains two chapters which have co-authors associated with BU.  Chapter 15 ‘Communicating Maternity Risks Using Social Media in England and Australia‘ is written by Sheena Byrom, Mandie Scamell, Hannah Dahlen, Joanne Rack.  This chapter addresses childbirth in the digital age. Over the last two decades, social media—a group of internet-based applications that facilitate the development and sharing of information—revolutionised the way we connect and communicate. These new media are now an ever-present part of our daily lives. The authors explore how social media shapes the way risk is understood by all of those involved in pregnancy, labour, and birth.Sheena Byrom holds an honourary doctorate from Bournemouth University, and Joanne Rack is doing her for-year Clinical Doctorate in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) specialising in personalised care for women of advanced maternal age. This PhD study is matched-funded by University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) NHS Foundation Trust and Bournemouth University.

Whilst chapter 16 From Uncertainty to Risk: How Mass Media in the UK and the US Generate Fear of Childbirth is co-authored by professors Hundley and van Teijlingen who are co-leads of the CMWH.  This chapter addresses the growing intolerance for the uncertainties associated with childbirth. While research has yet to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between media representations of pregnancy and birth and societal views of the childbirth experience, analysis of mass media accounts of childbirth can help explain why those involved in childbirth—maternity service users and providers alike—increasingly define birth as a site of risk. Existing studies of the representation of birth in mass media allow us to examine how the complex interaction between media, culture, and birth amplifies perceptions of risk. The authors illustrate the ways mass media influence, not just attitudes towards birth, but the way birth is managed.

 

References:

  1. Byrom, S., Scamell, M., Dahlen, H., Rack, J. (2026)  Communicating Maternity Risks Using Social Media in England and Australia [Chapter 15], In: Scamell, M., De Vries, R, Coxon, K. (eds) Critical Studies of Risk and Uncertainty in Maternity Care : Perspectives from Australia, Europe, and the United States, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 309-326.
  2. van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., De Vries R. (2026) From uncertainty to risk: how mass media in the UK and the US generate fear of childbirth [Chapter 16], In: Scamell, M., De Vries, R, Coxon, K. (eds) Critical Studies of Risk and Uncertainty in Maternity Care : Perspectives from Australia, Europe, and the United States, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 327-346.

BU academics publish in Nepal national newspaper

Delicious links, international

Dr. Pramod Regmi and prof. Edwin van Teijlingen had a long article published today related to their work on migrant workers in Nepal.  The article ‘Nepal’s migrant workers: Data the new government can’t ignore’ appeared in both the print edition and the online version of The Kathmandu Post, which is one of the three English-language national papers in Nepal.  Both academics are based in the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences.
https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2026/04/15/working-abroad-comes-at-a-cost-to-migrant-workers-health

New BU Physiology paper

BRIAN, PG research, writing

Congratulations to HEMS’s Dr. Malika Felton, Dr. Vikram Mohan and Prof. Vanora Hundley on the recent publication of their academic paper ‘Acute cardiovascular responses to slow and deep breathing in normotensive men and women‘ [1].  The BU authors outline that there differences in cardiovascular responses to different methods of slow and deep breathing (SDB) delivery.  They query whether utilising a multi-parametric approach to measuring cardiovascular variables reveal new/different responses.  Their key findings are that all SDB conditions elicited similar cardiovascular responses to each other when compared with spontaneous breathing. However, lower breathing frequencies elicit greater blood pressure oscillations, and higher breathing frequencies (∼8 breaths min−1) may not fully optimise cardiovascular responses. This has implications on the practice of SDB for management of hypertension.

Well done!

Prof.Edwin van Teijlingen

Reference:

  1. Felton, M., Mohan, V., & Hundley, V. A. (2026). Acute cardiovascular responses to slow and deep breathing in normotensive men and women. Experimental Physiology, 01–24. https://doi.org/10.1113/EP093086