More Information on the SG & Advisors
The ARM Officers, Steering Group and Advisors

Katherine Hales
National co-ordinator
I have been a midwife for 25 years and an ARM member since before then. I have a strong belief that good maternity care is a feminist issue. I have worked in the NHS in hospital, community and MLU in rural Northumberland. In addition to my NHS work, I have also been an independent midwife for a small caseload since 2002.

Irene Walton
Membership Secretary
I was a midwifery academic now retired and my passion is women and midwifery. I firmly believe that women should have true informed choice be treated as a fellow adult human being and most particularly have continuity of carer and gentle, compassionate care. I believe that the maternity services should be properly funded and care delivered against National standards with home birth and independent midwifery available everywhere with midwives in charge of their own profession at all levels. ARM is in my opinion the most active and best placed organisation to take this forward.

Linda Wylie
Treasurer/Sales
I recently retired as midwife lecturer in Scotland. Still active within Midwifery and the ARM, I’m keen to promote social media as a means of encouraging networking between the world’s Midwives

Oli Silverwood-Cope
Editor Midwifery Matters
Works in Stroud community and free-standing birth unit. Former copywriter and part time lecturer in copywriting.
For me, midwifery is an expression of love and political consciousness; it combines health and wellbeing with human rights, feminism and spirituality and expresses our struggle for equality and sovereignty over our own bodies – all in one beautiful profession.

Ishbel Kargar
Honorary Member
I started nurse training in 1948 and qualified in 1951, followed by the 6 month Part 1 Midwifery training which I completed early 1952. I was then was away from practice for 25 years living in Iran bringing up my family before completing my midwifery training in 1980 (Part 2 Midwifery). I joined ARM at that time and I’m very passionate about our aims. I have undertaken many roles including National Secretary and Magazine Editor. Now in my 80s, I do less work running ARM tables at conferences and study days, but still participate in meetings and I’m active online.

Becky Millar
Steering Group Member
I qualified as a midwife in 2011 and work as a midwife and Supervisor of Midwives in an alongside Midwife Led Unit. I’m passionate about encouraging normality (particularly within the NHS) promoting women’s choices and supporting midwives.

Hilary Rosser
Steering Group Member
I became a midwife as a result of my own positive birth experiences. I found like-minded midwives in ARM when doing midwifery training in 1995 and I’ve undertaken a number of ARM roles including delegate to the International Confederation of Midwives and ARM treasurer. I’ve worked as a caseloading midwife for the One to One service in Sheffield and as an NHS community midwife and I’m currently a research midwife.

Margaret Jowitt
Steering Group Member
Ever since the birth of my third child in 1991, I have worked towards making birth a safer and more rewarding experience for mothers and their babies. After a first degree in music and psychology, I gained an MPhil from Keele in 1998, researching into Mothers’ Experience of Birth at Home and in Hospital.
I edited Midwifery Matters from 1996 to 2015. I’ve written two books, Childbirth Unmasked (1993) and Dynamic Positions in Birth (2014) and designed the Osborne Kneeling Chair.

Catherine Cooper
Steering Group Member
Experienced Midwife, Positive Birth Movement Facilitator, KGHypnobirthing teacher, massage therapist and TBR 3 step rewind practitioner with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & health care industry. Skilled in Hypnobirthing, Practice Development, Midwifery, Natural Childbirth, Therapeutic Massage, NLP and TFT. Strong consulting professional with a Master of Science (MSc) focused in Midwifery from University of Hertfordshire.

Donna Grayson
Steering Group Member
ARM member since 1996
I became a midwife later in life after having my own 5 children. I worked within the NHS for many years in a variety of settings including hospitals and community teams, and then for 5 years with One to One Midwives carrying my own case load and giving continuity of care. I have felt very privileged to have supported women through pregnancy and birth and emerge on the other side as parents.
Juno Midwifery

Melinda Pagden
Steering Group Member
Semi-Retired Midwife
Aromatherapy trainer

Milly Morris
Steering Group Member
Independent Midwife and student breastfeeding specialist.
MillyMorris-doula

Evony Lynch
Social Media & Website Editor
Midwife at Truro Birth Centre in Cornwall.
I am a holistic midwife and social entrepreneur. Love of birth and empowering women and their partners runs through my veins. I believe in the power and possibility that lies within us to grow and birth our babies, and hope that we can continue to curate the knowledge around this to share in our culture and with future generations.

Maryla Crosski
Steering Group Member
I am an anaesthetic midwife, which basically means that I am a nurse specialist in anaesthesia and a current student of midwifery. I have been helping mothers and fathers in some of the most life-changing situations of their lives for years, and have also worked with newborn babies and young children going through serious medical and surgical operations.
The Advisors to the Steering Group

Mavis Kirkham
Professor of Midwifery
Emeritus professor of midwifery at Sheffield Hallam University and holds honorary professorial positions at the University of Technology, Sydney, and Auckland University of Technology. Her books include Informed Choice in Maternity Care, Birth Centres: A social model of maternity care, The Midwife/Mother Relationship, and Exploring the Dirty Side of Women’s Health. Since her official retirement, her research has included a study of a “failed” birth centres and a review of stillbirths and neonatal deaths in the care of independent midwives. She is currently collecting stories of births without professional attendants.

Sarah Davies
Senior midwifery lecturer
ARM member since 1980
ARM was a lifeline for me as a student midwife in Manchester in the early 80s. I qualified in 1982, then worked in a variety of midwifery roles including independently. I am now a senior midwifery lecturer at the University of Salford. I have always considered birth to be a deeply political issue and have published numerous papers on various midwifery topics. My most recent research looked at the traumatic experiences of student midwives. I love working with the midwives of the future and they are a constant source of inspiration!
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