UEA student wins RCM Small Research Award!

We were delighted to celebrate the success of University of East Anglia midwifery student Emily Bates, who won a Royal College of Midwives Small Research Award 2025 and was formally recognised for her achievement at the RCM conference this month. For the award, Emily had to speak to a midwife researcher about their role in research and submit a written reflection about this. She chose to speak to Katherine Waterfall, Midwifery Lecturer at UEA, who is currently undertaking her PhD at City University, London, focused on the maternity care of women who are seeking asylum.

Emily wrote how inspired she felt by Katherine’s “obvious passion for transformative care in an under-researched, misunderstood and marginalised demographic”, noting how she had learnt the value of looking beyond the immediate environment to the wider context of care, as well as generating her interest in evaluation and research. Emily was influenced through learning about wider political issues in maternity care and how she might make a difference through becoming a midwife researcher.

Emily said “I’m really happy to have won the RCM Small Research Award — it was a surprise! I wasn’t expecting it, which makes it feel even more special. Receiving this award has reinforced my excitement about (hopefully) being part of this field in the future. It’s encouraging to know that my writing was recognised, and it’s given me even more motivation to keep exploring and learning.”

Congratulations Emily!

To find out more about the RCM small research awards click here.