Judy Bothamley, RN, RM, ADM, PGCEA, MA is a lecturer in midwifery at the University of West London. Following nurse training in her native country of Australia she qualified as a midwife in the UK in 1983 and she has had a varied clinical and teaching career. She has worked on a tertiary referral high-risk labour ward and as the lead midwife in the antenatal clinic and antenatal/postnatal ward. She has always felt that women with complications of pregnancy deserve supportive and knowledgeable midwifery care. Her teaching interests include physiology and pathophysiology, critical care, emergencies and complications of pregnancy. She has published articles on a range of subjects including the experience of fathers, tuberculosis in pregnancy, cardiac disease, blood pressure assessment, sickle cell disorders, the challenge of obesity and improving student midwives' ability to assess women for deteriorating health. She has collaborated with her colleague Maureen Boyle as co-author for: Critical care assessment by midwives (Routledge 2018), Medical Conditions Affecting Pregnancy and Childbirth (Routledge 2020), and contributing chapters on ‘Serious infection’ and ‘Thromboembolism in pregnancy’ in Emergencies around childbirth (Routledge 2025).Maureen Boyle RN, RM, ADM, PGCEA, MSc is a senior lecturer in midwifery at the University of West London. After completing nurse training in London and working in Canada primarily as a cardiac nurse, she qualified as a midwife in the UK at St Mary’s Hospital Paddington in 1985 and worked there for many years in various clinical roles. Her teaching interests have focused on care to be provided for women with complications in their pregnancies, both as emergencies or resulting from a pre-existing condition. Together with her colleague Judy Bothamley, she set up and has led a module for post-graduate midwives in Critical Care which has been running for more than 15 years. She has also published widely, many volumes in collaboration with Judy Bothamley, including Critical care assessment by midwives (Routledge 2018), Medical Conditions Affecting Pregnancy and Childbirth 2nd edition (Routledge 2020), and has edited Emergencies around Childbirth (Routledge), the 4th edition being in 2025.Lacie Elliott RM, MSc, PGCert, FHEA, qualified as a midwife in 2013 in the West Midlands and has since gained extensive experience across all areas of clinical midwifery practice. In 2016, she completed a Master’s in Public Health, which expanded her understanding of population health and its impact on maternity care. Her career progressed in Berkshire, where she worked in a high-pressure delivery suite environment, supporting multidisciplinary teams and managing complex cases. This experience sparked a deep interest in high-risk maternity care and pregnancy complications. Currently, Lacie is a Midwifery Lecturer at the University of West London, teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate students, and has completed a PgCert in Professional Academic Practice. She has co-authored a published article with colleagues from the midwifery education team, focusing on teaching midwifery students how to assess and respond to deteriorating maternal health, a key component of the module she leads as part of her role as a midwifery lecturer. Passionate about education, she is committed to sharing her clinical expertise nurturing the next generation of confident, skilled midwives.Debra Sloam, RN, RM, MSc, PGCert, FHEA, IBCLC (retired), is a senior lecturer in midwifery at the University of West London (UWL). Originally from New Zealand, she trained as a nurse before travelling to the UK in the late 1990s. Debra has worked across all areas of maternity care and held senior positions as Critical Care Lead Midwife and Labour Ward Coordinator in the West Midlands, and as Infant Feeding Specialist Midwife in Berkshire. Since moving into education, she leads modules in public health, maternal critical care, and teaches across several modules that focus on the care of women and newborn infants with complications. She also oversees the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative University Standards programme, supporting UWL’s continued Gold Award accreditation. Her teaching and research interests include infant feeding, maternal critical care, and midwifery education. She has co-authored articles in the British Journal of Midwifery and contributed to Emergencies Around Childbirth (Routledge, 2024). Debra has always been committed to ensuring women and families receive safe, compassionate, and evidence-based care throughout the childbirth journey.
