BAME Birthing With Colour 2027: Talks. Workshops. Networking. Social. CPD

Saturday, January 30th 2027

Get your tickets now!

OVERVIEW

The BAME Birthing With Colour Conference 2027 is a one day virtual conference highlighting maternity issues facing diverse and vulnerable communities….

…. It’s Where Maternity Professionals and Service Users Meet

The conference addresses:

Persistent Disparities in Maternity Care for Diverse and Vulnerable Communities

Join us for a mix of presentations, networking and socialising. The day rounds out with our famous Wind Down Zone. An opportunity to decompress your way: Yoga, Zumba, Pilates, Relaxation, Discussions, Cultural Presentations…

Proceeds from the conference – and in fact everything that the organisers do – support projects that resonate with our core mission and values:

To date we have funded a bursary scheme, wellbeing wallets for expectant mothers, essential maternity literature in different languages… and so much more.

The organising committee work on an entirely pro bono basis.

Please meet the speakers, workshop leaders, panellists and instructors below.

Certificate of Attendance in support of Continuous Professional Development will be issued.

INTRODUCTORY SESSIONS

09:00 | WELCOME | BIRTHING & MATERNITY EDUCATION ONLINE

Edwin Lampert Founder, Birthing & Maternity Education Online

09:10 | KEYNOTE ADDRESS | THE STATE OF MATERNITY EQUITY

Delivered by Donna Ockendon, this paper will draw on findings from the UK National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England, and global data on persistent disparities.

Donna Ockendon Chair, Independent review into maternity care, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

SESSION 1 — THE EVIDENCE BASE. WHAT THE DATA TELLS US

This opening session examines the latest research and data on persistent disparities in maternity care. From mortality statistics to lived experience research, our speakers present the evidence that must drive change.

09:40 | MATERNAL MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY: WHERE ARE WE NOW?

A presentation of the most up-to-date available evidence on UK and international maternal mortality and morbidity, with a focus on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities. Drawing on MBRRACE-UK findings, the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England, and the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium’s emerging evidence base.

Professor Marian Knight MBE FMedSci, National Programme Lead MBRRACE-UK; Professor of Maternal and Child Population Health, Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford

10:00 | MENTAL HEALTH AS THE LEADING CAUSE OF MATERNAL DEATH: THE NEW CRISIS

Mental health disorders and substance use are now the leading cause of maternal death (40% of pregnancy-related deaths). Nearly 17% of pregnancy-related deaths among Black women were due to mental health conditions. This paper presents the data, the disparities and what must change.

Dr Lucy Lord MBE, MB Bchir (Cantab), FRCOG, FHKCOG, FHKAM Founding Partner, Central Health London

10:20 | BEYOND THE BIRTHING PERSON: PATERNAL AND FAMILY FACTORS IN MATERNITY DISPARITIES

Pregnancy care has long centred on the health of the pregnant person with limited attention to preconception care or the father’s role, yet evidence from biological behavioural and social sciences now shows that fathers’ health and wellbeing are under-recognised but consequential. Paternal factors including early life experience physical and mental health age weight substance use and social environment shape pregnancy and child outcomes through direct biological routes and indirect effects on partners, and in some areas may match or exceed maternal influence. Improving the health of boys and men across the life course is therefore a critical chance to reduce disparities in the next generation, and preconception strategies should take a family-centred approach that includes fathers alongside mothers and pregnant persons.

Professor Keith Godfrey MBE FMedSci Professor of Epidemiology and Human Development, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton

10:40 | Q&A — THE EVIDENCE BASE

20-minute open Q&A including live audience polling.

11.00 AM | NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK.

Delegates network. Breakout rooms available

SESSION 2 — LIVED EXPERIENCE, SYSTEMIC RACISM AND THE FIGHT FOR BIRTH JUSTICE

This session centres the voices and experiences of those most affected by persistent disparities: service users, advocates and frontline practitioners who have witnessed and challenged systemic racism in maternity care

11:20 | WHEN A MOTHER’S VOICE FALLS SILENT: LIVED EXPERIENCE, PREGNANCY LOSS AND THE URGENT CALL FOR COMPASSIONATE, EQUITABLE MATERNITY CARE

Drawing on lived and professional experience, this presentation examines bereavement’s impact on families, highlights two advocacy initiatives, and calls for equitable, compassionate maternity care shaped by bereaved voices.

Alicia Robinson Asomaning Founder, BabyLoss & PostPartum WellBeing Café; Founder, BabyLoss & PostPartum WellBeing Helpline

11:50 | BIRTH JUSTICE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC: COMPARING UK AND US EXPERIENCES

How does the maternity experience for Black, Asian and minority ethnic women compare on either side of the Atlantic? And what can each learn from the other? This paper draws on the US birth justice movement, federal legislative advances (the Momnibus bill, WELLS Act), and community-led models.

Joia Crear Perry MD, Founder & President, National Birth Equity Collaborative

12:20 | INDIGENOUS AND GYPSY, ROMA AND TRAVELLER COMMUNITIES: THE MOST OVERLOOKED DISPARITIES

Maternal mortality among indigenous communities is higher than for white women. GRT communities face some of the worst maternal outcomes in Europe.

Dr Winifred Ekezie, MPH, PhD, SFHEA Lecturer in Public Health, Programme Director, Master of Public Health Director, Center for Health and Society Aston University

12:50 | Q&A — LIVED EXPERIENCE AND BIRTH JUSTICE
20-minute open Q&A including live audience polling.

13.10 | LUNCH BREAK

Delegates network. Breakout rooms available

SESSION 3 — CLINICAL INNOVATION AND CULTURALLY SAFE PRACTICE

Technical insights, specialist practice, and accessibility — from nutrition and metabolic health to trauma-informed care and disability inclusion.

14:10 | CULTURALLY SENSITIVE NUTRITION AND METABOLIC HEALTH IN PREGNANCY

South Asian women are nearly twice as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes following gestational diabetes. Pakistani and Bangladeshi women face some of the highest rates of stillbirth and metabolic complications in the UK. This paper addresses the significantly higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome, gestational diabetes, and obesity across ethnic minority women, with particular focus on South Asian communities, presenting culturally grounded dietary frameworks, early detection strategies and community co-produced interventions.

14:30 | FGM, CULTURAL SAFETY AND TRAUMA-INFORMED MATERNITY CARE

Addressing the specific clinical and cultural needs of women who have experienced Female Genital Mutilation — and the broader principles of trauma-informed, culturally safe care for diverse communities.

Derin Webb Cultural Safety and Ethnic Minority Engagement Midwife; Freedom to Speak Up Champion; Expert Advisor, National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation; Saint Mary’s Managed Clinical Services, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Huda Mohamed MBE RN RM BSc FGM Specialist Lead Midwife; Chief Midwifery Officer Gold Award Winner; Expert Advisor, National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation

14:50 | MATERNITY CARE FOR DEAF, DISABLED AND NEURODIVERSE WOMEN: CLOSING THE ACCESSIBILITY GAP

This paper addresses the persistent and under-examined disparities faced by Deaf women, women with disabilities, people with visual impairments, and neurodiverse women in maternity care. Drawing on emerging UK research, it examines communication barriers, physical accessibility, attitudinal bias, and the compounding effect of disability intersecting with race, poverty, and immigration status. What do truly accessible and inclusive maternity services look like — and how far are we from delivering them?

Professor Hannah Kuper Director of the International Centre for Evidence in Disability at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Aramide Caunt RM. Founder & Director, The Black Maternal Advocate Ltd
Member, Health Equity Expert Reference Group, National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce

15:10 | Q&A — CLINICAL PRACTICE AND INCLUSIVE CARE

20-minute open Q&A including live audience polling.

15:30 | NETWORKING BREAK.

Delegates network. Breakout rooms available

SESSION 4 — CHOOSE YOUR SESSION

Three workshops run simultaneously. Delegates select one to attend.

16:00 | WORKSHOP A

ANTI-RACISM AND DISABILITY INCLUSION IN PRACTICE: FROM TRAINING TO TRANSFORMATION

What does meaningful anti-racism and disability inclusion training look like in a maternity setting… and how do we move from one-off sessions to sustained institutional change? Drawing on real-world implementation experience from NHS trusts that have embedded mandatory anti-racism training and made genuine progress on accessibility for Deaf women, women with disabilities, and neurodiverse service users.

Sherilyn Ndhlovu EDI Specialist Midwife, The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust; BAME Midwife of the Year 2025 (National Health & Social Care Awards)

16:00 | WORKSHOP B

COMMUNITY-LED MODELS OF CARE: WHAT WORKS AND WHY

From doula programmes to community birth centres, peer support networks to culturally grounded care models… this workshop examines the evidence for community-led approaches and how they can be scaled and sustained.

Charlotte Henderson Perinatal Safeguarding Advocate; Birth Doula; Founder, The Dependency Doula; Co-founder, The Conduit Collective CIC

16:00 | WORKSHOP C

REIMAGINING HEALTH INNOVATION FOR EQUITY

Health innovation has historically overlooked women, retrofitting solutions to their needs as an afterthought. The Women’s Health Innovation Studio (WIN Studio) at the University of Liverpool is taking a fundamentally different approach by placing community members, women and health providers at the centre of the design process.

This workshop presents the WIN Studio model and its flagship innovation, the PPH Butterfly device. This is a low-cost, community-co-designed tool for the management of postpartum haemorrhage that demonstrates what equitable, women-centred health innovation looks like in practice. Attend to learn what maternity services can learn from this model and how to embed equity into health innovation from the start.

Dr Teesta Dey Women’s Health Innovation Studio, University of Liverpool

Prof Andrew Weeks Women’s Health Innovation Studio, University of Liverpool

SESSION 5 — PANEL DISCUSSION

17:00 | WHAT WILL IT ACTUALLY TAKE TO CLOSE THE GAP?

The conference’s centrepiece panel brings together a dynamic mix of clinicians, policymakers, advocates, researchers, and service users to discuss what will it actually take to eliminate persistent disparities in maternity care?

Discussion points:

1. What systemic changes are non-negotiable? And who is responsible for delivering them?
2. How do we ensure perinatal equity and anti-discrimination programmes deliver real change?
3. What role do service users play in driving accountability?
4. How do we support Black, Asian and minority ethnic midwives and maternity professionals?
5. What can the UK learn from international models…and vice versa?
6. What does success look like by 2030?
7. How do we ensure maternity services are genuinely accessible to deaf women, women with disabilities, people with visual impairments and neurodiverse women. And what does ‘reasonable adjustment’ actually mean in practice?
8. What are the compounding effects of disability intersecting with race, poverty, and immigration status in maternity care?
9. How do we ensure South Asian, East Asian, mixed heritage, and other ethnic minority communities receive dedicated focus given the distinct and serious disparities they face?
10. How do we move to a genuinely intersectional, multi-ethnic approach?

Hazel Williams Chief Executive, Birthrights

Jessica Sanchez Founder & CEO, Daughters of Both Suns

Madelyne Libao MSW Candidate, Chamberlain University; Social Work Intern, Daughters of Both Suns

Aramide Caunt RM. Founder & Director, The Black Maternal Advocate Ltd
Member, Health Equity Expert Reference Group, National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce

Lauren Caulfield Maternal Health Advocate; Lived Experience Representative, Health Equity Expert Reference Group, National Maternity & Neonatal Taskforce

Professor Dame Donna Kinnair DBE Former Chief Executive and General Secretary, Royal College of Nursing; Board Member, NHS Race and Health Observatory

SESSION 6 — CLOSING REMARKS

The closing remarks session will provide a powerful conclusion to the conference, offering diverse perspectives and reflections on the day’s events. This segment will feature brief addresses from key stakeholders, each contributing their unique insights:

17:45 | Service User (5 minutes)

A service users will share their personal experiences and reflections on the conference themes.

Nicole Lawal Founder & CEO, B3 (Bumps, Birth and Belonging) CIC; Member, Health Equity Expert Reference Group, National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce

17:50 | Midwifery Representative (5 minutes)

A senior midwifery professional will reflect on the implications of the conference for midwifery practice.

Maria Benedetti (Munàh) Inner Leadership Mentor; Founder, Munàh Global and the Kriola Di Força Movement

17:55 | Organisers (5 minutes)

A member of the organising committee will provide final thoughts on the conference.

SESSION 7 — THE WIND DOWN ZONE

Relax. Unwind. Reflect on the day in a way that suits you… a Birthing with Colour tradition!

18:00 | GUIDED RELAXATION & SOUND BATH

Unwind with a guided relaxation session and crystal sound bath. Lie back, put on headphones, and let the crystal sound bowls carry you into calm.

18:00 | ZUMBA / MOVEMENT SESSION

Get moving and shake off the day with an energising Zumba or dance fitness session led by a community instructor

18:00 | CULTURAL CELEBRATION & COMMUNITY SHARING

An informal space to share, celebrate, and connect across cultures. Music, stories, and community — the heart of Birthing with Colour

18:00 | OPEN DISCUSSION ROOM

For those who want to keep the conversation going — an unstructured space to reflect, connect, and plan next steps with fellow delegates.

19:00 | CONFERENCE CLOSE

After a full and involving day participants depart their final act of the day to note the date of next year’s date: Saturday 29 January 2028!