Senior Lecturer in Midwifery Emilie Edwards has been awarded the Chief Midwifery Officer Silver Award for outstanding service to midwifery and for her work to improve opportunities and accessibility for the neurodivergent midwifery workforce.
Emilie, who joined Middlesex University in 2020, has spearheaded a number of projects to support maternity service users and midwifery students who are neurodivergent. The term refers to the diversity of different brains, and how some people process information in a different way.
She was presented with the award by Kate Brintworth, Chief Midwifery Officer for England, Heather Bower, Royal College of Midwives Head of Midwifery Education, and Professor Donald Peebles, National Clinical Director for Maternity. The award “celebrates midwives who go above and beyond their everyday roles to provide excellent care, leadership and inspiration to their colleagues and patients”.
The Chief Midwifery Officer Award was developed to recognise the significant and outstanding contribution made by midwives in England and their exceptional contribution to midwifery practice.
Emilie, who is autistic, described receiving the award as ‘a huge privilege’. She said: “I am so pleased this work to support neurodivergent people has been recognised in this way.
“There is much left to be done to improve accessibility and inclusion for pregnant women and for the workforce. I am so thankful for the incredible people I have met during my career as a midwifery educator and to the neurodivergent midwives and students who I have worked alongside in the projects I have led to bring about improvements.
“Neurodivergent students and midwives still face discrimination in education and in practice, which is I why we need to continue the momentum to ensure we support our workforce.”
During her career at Middlesex, Emilie has sought to raise awareness of three kinds of neurodiversity within maternity care: among students, NHS professionals, and women using midwifery services and their families.
She said: “Many neurodivergent people are attracted to healthcare professions, where they can lead with kindness, but challenges remain for them in pursuing these careers where reasonable adjustments are not made for them.”
Among her projects, Emilie developed e-Learning modules for The London RePAIR Hub with Dr Rachael Major, Senior Lecturer at The Guernsey Institute, to support healthcare professionals when assessing or working with neurodivergent students.
Emilie said: “If you are in a leadership position, you need to consider that many of the people you are working with will be neurodivergent. If you are a midwifery educator, you will be working with neurodivergent students.”
In 2023, Emilie was awarded the Royal College of Midwives Excellence in Midwifery for Leadership Award. Gill Walton, the Royal College of Midwives Chief Executive, said: “Emilie’s leadership to demolish taboos around neurodiversity and raise awareness of these issues is incredible, and worthy of all our praise. Not only that, but her efforts are also actively changing things for the better for neurodivergent pregnant women and staff, locally and nationally. She is so deserving of this award and the recognition it brings and I congratulate her wholeheartedly.”
In 2022, she was named Educator of the Year and hailed as a “huge advocate for neurodivergent students” at the prestigious Student Nursing Times Awards.
Emilie started teaching at Middlesex University in September 2020, previously working as an independent midwife and lecturing part-time at the University of Greenwich. She is a member of Middlesex’s Disability Network and accessibility steering groups.
Cariona Flaherty, Interim Head of Nursing and Midwifery at Middlesex University, said: “We’re thrilled that Emilie’s dedication to neurodiversity in midwifery has been recognised with another well-deserved award. Passionate about inclusive education, she empowers students of all abilities to believe in themselves, tailoring her teaching to diverse learning styles and making complex topics clear and accessible.”
