Maternal health expert awarded an MBE for services to midwifery
Professor Sara Kenyon, Professor of Evidence Based Maternity Care and a maternal health expert and midwife by background, has been appointed MBE for services to midwifery in the King’s New Year Honours list.
Prof. Kenyon, who works at the University of Birmingham and with Birmingham Women's Hospital (BWH), has been heavily involved in numerous pioneering research studies to improve outcomes for new families and babies, and was instrumental in the development and widespread implementation of the Birmingham Symptom Specific Obstetric Triage System (BSOTS).
BSOTS, which was developed alongside Dr Nina Johns, Consultant Obstetrician and Clinical Lead of Delivery Suite at BWH, involves an initial assessment of women when they arrive at triage, and has helped to standardise the way we determine clinical urgency of women in triage. This has improved safety for mothers and babies and helped to streamline departments.
Since its development, BSOT has been adopted by more than 100 NHS Trusts across the country, and the triage model is recommended by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Royal College of Midwives and the Care Quality Commission as an example of good practice.
Sara commented on her MBE recognition and said: "It was the most wonderful surprise.
“I am honored and proud to be recognised for outstanding achievement within maternity care and the difference the work I have been involved in has made. No-one works in isolation, so I want to thank all those who I have worked with and my family.”
Alongside developing BSOTS, Prof. Kenyon has been heavily involved in research within Birmingham Women’s Hospital and is a National Institute for Health and Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator.
She has been the Chief Investigator for the iHOLDS trial (High or Low Dose Syntocinon for induction of labour), which compares the effects of a standard dose or a higher dose of oxytocin on the rate of caesarean section in women undergoing induction of labour.
Sara added: “The research that both myself and those I work alongside are involved in plays such an important role in improving outcomes for mothers and babies, and it’s a huge privilege that this work is being recognised by the award.”