From Maternity Leave to Midwifery Research: Starting My EoE NIHR HCP Research Internship.

Between nappies, school runs, and returning from maternity leave, applying for a research internship wasn’t exactly part of the plan. But while catching up on a year’s worth of emails, one stood out immediately: the East of England NIHR Health and Care Professional Internship Programme.

Returning to clinical practice after the final months of maternity leave with my second baby while undertaking this programme felt like a way to begin the next chapter with renewed curiosity and purpose. The internship offers a funded opportunity to explore research while continuing my role as a clinical midwife — what a dream come true.

What makes this programme particularly valuable is that it is bespoke, shaped from the start with support and tailored to each intern’s needs. At the very beginning of what I hope will become a career in research, my aims for this internship focus on three main areas: getting involved in research delivery; demystifying what a research career can look like; and gaining a clearer understanding of potential postgraduate pathways. I’m also eager to learn from the work happening across the region and to see how research is currently embedded within maternity services.

Ultimately, I hope to find my place within midwifery research and discover the area where I can make a difference. I see this internship as a leap of faith — a first step toward making a meaningful contribution to research that not only drives improvements in maternity care but also shapes the services we provide.

Three midwives from Norfolk are part of the first cohort of the East of England NIHR Health and Care Professionals Internship: Millie Gray, James Paget University Hospital; Erica Auger, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital; and Daniela Ivanova, Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

See more about the internship programme here.