Cassandra Yuill
@cyuill.bsky.social
Anthropologist researching maternity care and maternal health
Discourse on 'increasing complexity' needs some critique. It seems regressive to describe our bodies as dysfunctional and call pregnant women 'older, sicker, heavier'.
November 18, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Discourse on 'increasing complexity' needs some critique. It seems regressive to describe our bodies as dysfunctional and call pregnant women 'older, sicker, heavier'.
There should really be some consideration of whether removing direct entry midwifery, going after lecturers, reducing capacity to teach critical thinking skills and assuming women's bodies are faulty and broken from the start will truly solve the safety issues or wider systematic challenges
🚨 Student midwives are being stopped from graduating and forced to extend training "to make up for deficits in theory and practice" the NMC has said. 67 separate concerns have been raised with the NMC about university courses in the past year:
www.thetimes.com/article/24e9...
www.thetimes.com/article/24e9...
Student midwives blocked from graduating after training ‘failures’
The regulator has intervened after The Sunday Times revealed that dozens of courses are still promoting ‘normal birth’ ideology
www.thetimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:52 AM
There should really be some consideration of whether removing direct entry midwifery, going after lecturers, reducing capacity to teach critical thinking skills and assuming women's bodies are faulty and broken from the start will truly solve the safety issues or wider systematic challenges
Reposted by Cassandra Yuill
Midwifery Crisis: Lack of Trust & Failing System
“I’ve never known it like this,” says Prof Mary Renfrew OBE, 45+ yrs in midwifery.
Care models aren’t funded. Staff lack support. Women’s voices go unheard.
We know what works, time to act.
🔗 surl.li/mntpyy
“I’ve never known it like this,” says Prof Mary Renfrew OBE, 45+ yrs in midwifery.
Care models aren’t funded. Staff lack support. Women’s voices go unheard.
We know what works, time to act.
🔗 surl.li/mntpyy
August 1, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Midwifery Crisis: Lack of Trust & Failing System
“I’ve never known it like this,” says Prof Mary Renfrew OBE, 45+ yrs in midwifery.
Care models aren’t funded. Staff lack support. Women’s voices go unheard.
We know what works, time to act.
🔗 surl.li/mntpyy
“I’ve never known it like this,” says Prof Mary Renfrew OBE, 45+ yrs in midwifery.
Care models aren’t funded. Staff lack support. Women’s voices go unheard.
We know what works, time to act.
🔗 surl.li/mntpyy
the new NMPA report on induction should really provoke some critical discussion on risk categorisation and intervention rather than acceptance that this is the new normal
www.hqip.org.uk
November 14, 2025 at 12:59 PM
the new NMPA report on induction should really provoke some critical discussion on risk categorisation and intervention rather than acceptance that this is the new normal
Proud to have supported this work led by @caitlinf.bsky.social. There has been very little research on maternity inquiry reports, their impact and staff perspectives. All credit to her for developing this project and bringing it to life!
Cassandra Yuill, Chris McCourt and their MSc student Caitlin Foley have published an interesting article about midwives' perceptions of the Ockenden review. Read it here: www.sciencedirect.co... #OckendenReview #Midwifery #Midwives
An exploration of midwives’ perceptions of the Ockenden review: a qualitative study
This study aims to understand midwives’ perceptions of the Ockenden report.The Ockenden report was published following an inquiry into maternity servi…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Proud to have supported this work led by @caitlinf.bsky.social. There has been very little research on maternity inquiry reports, their impact and staff perspectives. All credit to her for developing this project and bringing it to life!
Reposted by Cassandra Yuill
An apt time for this study to have been published. Midwives thoughts on the Ockenden review, its impact and what it means for midwifery and maternity care in the UK. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
An exploration of midwives’ perceptions of the Ockenden review: a qualitative study
This study aims to understand midwives’ perceptions of the Ockenden report.The Ockenden report was published following an inquiry into maternity servi…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:07 AM
An apt time for this study to have been published. Midwives thoughts on the Ockenden review, its impact and what it means for midwifery and maternity care in the UK. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Our paper on midwives' perceptions of the Ockenden report has been published. It is a small but timely study. We discuss the effects of the report, the perception of midwifery and the relationship between inquiry reports and evidence.
An exploration of midwives’ perceptions of the Ockenden review: a qualitative study
This study aims to understand midwives’ perceptions of the Ockenden report.The Ockenden report was published following an inquiry into maternity servi…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Our paper on midwives' perceptions of the Ockenden report has been published. It is a small but timely study. We discuss the effects of the report, the perception of midwifery and the relationship between inquiry reports and evidence.
Reposted by Cassandra Yuill
Half-day physiological breech birth study day, Friday 21/11, 13:30 - 17:00. Reviews of recent cases, clinical decision-making, hands-on simulations, research update and plans for future research. www.eventbrite.com/e/physiologi...
Physiological Breech Birth Half Day -- Royal London
Half day update for clinical skills trainers, obstetricians and midwives. Recent case review, video-based simulations, and hands-on practice
www.eventbrite.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Half-day physiological breech birth study day, Friday 21/11, 13:30 - 17:00. Reviews of recent cases, clinical decision-making, hands-on simulations, research update and plans for future research. www.eventbrite.com/e/physiologi...
the focus on ideology, at this point, is really muddling the wider issues of funding, staffing, governance, hierarchical organisational culture and lack of trust, continuity and candour
November 10, 2025 at 8:30 AM
the focus on ideology, at this point, is really muddling the wider issues of funding, staffing, governance, hierarchical organisational culture and lack of trust, continuity and candour
Ideology is a loose term that is often used now to undermine rather than describe a set of ideas. Increasing medicalisation and normalising interventions is also ideological - there was a lot of feminist scholarship in the 70s/80s that demonstrated this.
🚨 INVESTIGATION: Britain's maternity crisis has deeper roots, extending into the universities trusted to train the next generation of midwives. A majority are still promoting a normal birth ideology while women are more complex than ever:
READ: www.thetimes.com/article/b4fe...
READ: www.thetimes.com/article/b4fe...
Stop promoting natural birth ideology, midwife courses told
Despite a litany of scandals, universities are still pushing ‘normal birth’ over medical interventions. Now our investigation has prompted the regulator to act
www.thetimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Ideology is a loose term that is often used now to undermine rather than describe a set of ideas. Increasing medicalisation and normalising interventions is also ideological - there was a lot of feminist scholarship in the 70s/80s that demonstrated this.
Writting and thinking a lot about risk lately. Our relationship to it is really shaped by place - why one setting has 'fatal dangers' and another does not.
Women must be warned of home birth risks and have access to skilled midwives, experts say
Exclusive: Pregnancy experts warn of inadequate medical advice and lack of safe and reliable care
www.theguardian.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Writting and thinking a lot about risk lately. Our relationship to it is really shaped by place - why one setting has 'fatal dangers' and another does not.
Reposted by Cassandra Yuill
I wrote about the Trump administration’s false claims about Tylenol, and the moral—not scientific—burdens they place on pregnant women’s bodies. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
September 23, 2025 at 5:18 PM
I wrote about the Trump administration’s false claims about Tylenol, and the moral—not scientific—burdens they place on pregnant women’s bodies. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
what to even say about the “role of educational institutions“
September 16, 2025 at 2:19 PM
what to even say about the “role of educational institutions“
Necessity of the national maternity review aside, I do think good practice work stream is too limited in scope
September 16, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Necessity of the national maternity review aside, I do think good practice work stream is too limited in scope
difficult to problematise a term if you don‘t fully define it or engage with the vast body of literature on it
🔔 NEW in the Medical Journal of Australia
Linguistic manoeuvres: obstetric violence camouflages harm and loss of consent from birth
✍️ Harsha Ananthram, Liz Sutton, Rebecca Matthews, Nadine Montgomery, James Titcombe and Ajay Rane
buff.ly/z0tje8w
Linguistic manoeuvres: obstetric violence camouflages harm and loss of consent from birth
✍️ Harsha Ananthram, Liz Sutton, Rebecca Matthews, Nadine Montgomery, James Titcombe and Ajay Rane
buff.ly/z0tje8w
September 16, 2025 at 8:53 AM
difficult to problematise a term if you don‘t fully define it or engage with the vast body of literature on it
Reposted by Cassandra Yuill
New article, ‘Tense Concepts: Obstetric Violence, Structural Injustice and Moral Injury’ published online today in ‘Gender and Justice’ ➡️➡️
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com
September 15, 2025 at 7:39 PM
New article, ‘Tense Concepts: Obstetric Violence, Structural Injustice and Moral Injury’ published online today in ‘Gender and Justice’ ➡️➡️
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...
NHS hospital league tables feels like a step back that will have the opposite effect for improvement and morale
September 9, 2025 at 2:49 PM
NHS hospital league tables feels like a step back that will have the opposite effect for improvement and morale
👀 the fact that the big baby trial is a linked article says a lot
July 7, 2025 at 6:35 PM
👀 the fact that the big baby trial is a linked article says a lot
this isn't it! Empowering women during childbirth - The Lancet www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
July 7, 2025 at 6:34 PM
this isn't it! Empowering women during childbirth - The Lancet www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Reposted by Cassandra Yuill
Declining birth rates are likely driven by "pregnancy avoidance" decisions - people repeatedly deciding that it's not a good time to get pregnant *right now* rather than deciding not to have any (more) children at all, as my colleagues and I show in a new paper. 1/ doi.org/10.1007/s111...
June 10, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Declining birth rates are likely driven by "pregnancy avoidance" decisions - people repeatedly deciding that it's not a good time to get pregnant *right now* rather than deciding not to have any (more) children at all, as my colleagues and I show in a new paper. 1/ doi.org/10.1007/s111...
Petition in support of the Carmen Birth Centre in London, which is being threatened with closure by St George's Trust Board. Birth centres need to be seen as an essential part of maternity care.
chng.it/ZdrsKJFSPG
chng.it/ZdrsKJFSPG
Sign the Petition
Protect our Birth Choices - Save the Carmen Birth Centre, St George’s University Hospitals
chng.it
June 10, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Petition in support of the Carmen Birth Centre in London, which is being threatened with closure by St George's Trust Board. Birth centres need to be seen as an essential part of maternity care.
chng.it/ZdrsKJFSPG
chng.it/ZdrsKJFSPG
I would say the benefits remain uncertain, if you look at the intention to treat analysis.
The benefits & harms of early induction of labour to reduce shoulder dystocia in fetuses are uncertain.
The Big Baby trial investigated if early induction of labour is associated with a reduced risk of shoulder dystocia: tinyurl.com/3mkkpxda #MedSky
The Big Baby trial investigated if early induction of labour is associated with a reduced risk of shoulder dystocia: tinyurl.com/3mkkpxda #MedSky
May 15, 2025 at 7:45 AM
I would say the benefits remain uncertain, if you look at the intention to treat analysis.
De-identifying data is not the same as anonymising data. It’s incredible the ethical scrutiny health research is under, but when it comes to AI modelling everyone’s NHS records, oversight is like “that’s fine”.
May 8, 2025 at 9:22 AM
De-identifying data is not the same as anonymising data. It’s incredible the ethical scrutiny health research is under, but when it comes to AI modelling everyone’s NHS records, oversight is like “that’s fine”.
Reposted by Cassandra Yuill
Training an AI model on the English population's health data is a massive legal and ethical grey area, but researchers have done it anyway.
It *might* one day help doctors predict disease, but it's unclear whether it ever can without breaking the law.
www.newscientist.com/article/2479...
It *might* one day help doctors predict disease, but it's unclear whether it ever can without breaking the law.
www.newscientist.com/article/2479...
Concerns raised over AI trained on 57 million NHS medical records
The makers of an AI model called Foresight say it could help predict disease or hospitalisation rates, but others have expressed concern about the fact it is trained on millions of health records
www.newscientist.com
May 7, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Training an AI model on the English population's health data is a massive legal and ethical grey area, but researchers have done it anyway.
It *might* one day help doctors predict disease, but it's unclear whether it ever can without breaking the law.
www.newscientist.com/article/2479...
It *might* one day help doctors predict disease, but it's unclear whether it ever can without breaking the law.
www.newscientist.com/article/2479...
For me, recent work on CQC and maternity highlights tensions with defining and measuring performance. But the discourse around the CQC is really impactful, their ratings carry a lot of weight.
May 7, 2025 at 3:58 PM
For me, recent work on CQC and maternity highlights tensions with defining and measuring performance. But the discourse around the CQC is really impactful, their ratings carry a lot of weight.