It Takes a Village

Venue:
Parish Centre at St. Alban and St. Stephen Church
14, Beaconsfield Road
St. Albans
AL1 3RB

 

Speakers

Dr. Claire Feeley
Qualifying as a midwife in 2011, earning an MSc in 2015, PhD in 2019, Claire has worked clinically in all areas of midwifery, in all settings, and across different organisations, across all birthplace settings – specialising in physiological birth across the risk spectrum, water immersion, advocacy and change implementation. Claire’s primary research focus has been on the sociocultural-political components of maternity care provision including access, engagement and care delivery. Claire has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, two monographs, professional articles, book chapters, in addition to presenting nationally and internationally. Now a Senior Lecturer and researcher at King’s College London and a freelance consultant, Claire can be contacted at www.clairefeeley.com.

Ellie Fornelli
Ellie is a registered midwife and an experienced and well-rounded birth professional since 2008. Over the past two decades, she developed numerous projects to shape maternity services that are safe, inclusive, and empowering. These include founding the non-profit organisation Il Club delle Mamme in Milan (2008), legalising the doula profession in the United Arab Emirates, and establishing the first doula agency in the Middle East, Belly Baby Mum (2017). She also created the Maternidade Ativa collective to support Brazilian families in London. Originally from Italy, she grew up as an expat living in Brazil, the USA, Portugal and the UAE, and relocated to the UK in 2019. In 2020, she joined the NHS graduating as a Midwife in 2023 working in both hospital and community settings. This year decided to expand her practice to independent midwifery focusing on supporting multicultural and expat families around the world. Her website is www.yourinternationalmidwife.com.

Constance Chitiyo
With nearly two decades of experience as a midwife and nurse, I am passionate about providing compassionate and personalized care to families during one of the most significant times in their lives. My journey in healthcare has allowed me to develop expertise in maternal and neonatal health, advocating for the needs and wishes of each patient. I believe in the importance of education and empowerment, ensuring that my clients feel informed and supported throughout their experiences.

I am dedicated to continuous learning and staying current with best practices to enhance the care I provide. Outside of my professional life, I enjoy writing and cooking which help me maintain balance and connect with my community.

Marina Testi
Marina is a registered midwife and nurse with a background in Social Education and Counselling, which helps her connect deeply with diverse communities. Her passion for maternity care began during her pregnancy in 2010 and led her to actively promote physiological birth with the Italian charity Il Melograno, which she helped establish locally. After moving to the UK in 2017, Marina worked as a Maternity Support Worker before qualifying as a midwife in 2025. Her current research focuses on student midwives’ experiences with non-pharmacological pain management in labour. Marina now begins her career as a midwife at Cambridge University Hospital, driven by a dedication to compassionate, evidence-based maternity care.
Marina will be speaking about ‘What are the experiences of final-year midwifery students regarding non-pharmacological pain management during labour at one of the universities in the East of England?’ as she conducted her primary research in 2025 as part of her undergraduate BSc (Hons) Midwifery Research Project.