Our April talk will be given by Dr Amy Delicate, of the College of Medicine and Health at the University of Birmingham next Monday, 7:30 at St Patrick’s Irish Club.

When we think about healthcare research, we often think about numbers — statistics that tell us whether a medication works or how often a condition occurs. While these figures are important, they don’t always tell the full story of people’s real experiences.

In the UK, some women and their babies — including Black and Brown women, disabled women, and those facing social disadvantage — experience significantly poorer outcomes during pregnancy, birth, and after having a baby. Statistics can show what those outcomes are, such as higher rates of injury or illness. But numbers alone can’t explain why these differences exist when everyone is using the same NHS maternity services.

In this talk, Amy will explore how listening to the voices, stories, and lived experiences of women and birthing people can help us understand the barriers some groups face when accessing maternity care. She will share examples from her research to show the power of qualitative (experience‑based) methods in improving maternal healthcare and ensuring better outcomes for mothers and their babies.