Dr Sarah Church

I joined LSBU in 2015 as a Reader in midwifery in a joint appointment with Barts Health NHS Trust having previously worked at the University of Northampton. I am currently Associate Dean Research & Enterprise and PGR Director, having been Head of Midwifery Division for over the last two years. I have a Masters in Research from the University of Manchester and hold a PhD in Midwifery from the Open University which focused on gender identity and explored the reproductive identities and experiences of midwives and mothers. 

Whilst my research interests fall within the areas of women’s sexual and reproductive health, rights and maternity care; exploring issues from the perspective of student midwives is a particular focus which identifies educational and professional areas for exploration and development. A particular area of interest is the way in which an enterprise framework (EntreComp Framework 2016) based on entrepreneurial competencies, can support students to build confidence to articulate their skills and experience to effect leadership, and act as innovators and change agents in the maternity services.  I am the first midwife to be awarded a fellowship from Enterprise Educators UK and have been awarded the Richard Beresford Developmental Bursary Winter 2024 to complete further work in the area of entrepreneurial mindset.

https://www.lsbu.ac.uk/stories/dr.-sarah-church-eeuk-academic-enterprise-fellowship-award-recipient

I am internationally recognised, I was a member of the Research Standing Committee of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). My first co-edited book ‘New Thinking on Improving Maternity Care: International Perspectives’ was published by Pinter and Martin in 2016 and evolved from the first COST Action ISO907 "Childbirth Cultures, Concerns, and Consequences: Creating a dynamic EU framework for optimal maternity care.”
Involvement in a subsequent COST Action has led to work on the social cultural context of midwifery care in the Czech Republic, and lately, collaborative research with Atatürk University, Turkey, in relation to ethical challenges experienced by student midwives for example abortion, family planning and currently exploring issues of health literacy in relation to sexual and reproductive health.

I have authored over 30 peer reviewed papers, eight book chapters supported by editorial experience; I am member of the International editorial Board of the Journal of Advanced Nursing; editorial board member of the Journal of Midwifery & Reproductive Health (University of Mashad) and European Journal of Midwifery. I am the Assistant editor for the Journal of Midwifery & Health Sciences published by Atatürk University, Turkey.