From global midwifery leadership in crisis settings to the realities of practice learning, stillbirth prevention, neurodivergence in perinatal care and the hard questions facing UK maternity services, our most-read articles of 2025 show what mattered most to readers this year: compassionate care, honest scrutiny, and practical ideas for change. Here are the ten pieces published in the last 12 months that you returned to, shared, and discussed the most.
As the year draws to a close, we’ve taken our annual look back at what you read most on Maternity & Midwifery Forum over the last 12 months. The results are always revealing: they are a snapshot of the issues that have felt most urgent, most challenging, and most hopeful across the maternity and midwifery community throughout the year..
This year’s top ten reflects the full range of what our audience looks for – real-world stories of practice under pressure, thoughtful debate about culture and identity, and evidence-informed calls to improve safety and outcomes. Across all of them runs a common thread: how we support the workforce and the people who use maternity services, even when systems are under strain.
Read on to discover our most read articles 2025:
1) Defying the Odds: Celebrating the Work and Legacy of a Midwife — Ahmed Abdi Abdulahi
In one of the year’s most powerful reads, Ahmed Abdi Abdulahi celebrates the career and legacy of Maryan Hajji, a Somali midwife whose work spans decades of profound challenge and change. From delivering care through conflict and insecurity to advocating against the harms of FGM, this piece is a reminder of what skilled, trusted maternity care can mean in the most difficult circumstances—and why midwives are “critical in every crisis.”
Read: Defying the Odds: Celebrating the Work and Legacy of a Midwife
2) Protecting the Spark: Supporting student midwives to thrive in practice learning — Dr Juliet Rayment
What helps students not just survive placements, but thrive? Dr Juliet Rayment shares learning from the Positive Midwifery Project, which collected “what’s going right” examples from students, practice supervisors, assessors and lecturers. The message readers returned to again and again was simple but profound: relationships, inclusion, kindness, trust and emotional support can be as important as formal teaching in sustaining confidence and values—protecting that “spark” students begin with.
Read: Protecting the Spark: Supporting student midwives to thrive in practice learning
3) Midwifery education: a cause for concern — Nicky Clark
Education and workforce pipelines remain a defining issue for the profession, and this article struck a chord with readers worried about capacity, consistency and support. Nicky Clark’s piece brings focus to the concerns being raised about midwifery education—what’s happening, why it matters for safety and retention, and what needs attention if we are to develop and keep the midwives the system depends on.
Read: Midwifery education: a cause for concern
4) Midwifery’s complicated relationship with gender — Dr John Pendleton
Few topics generated as much interest—and as much need for careful, respectful discussion—as gender in midwifery. Dr John Pendleton explores a relationship that is historically shaped, culturally loaded and professionally consequential, prompting readers to reflect on language, identity, inclusion and how we talk about a profession rooted in women’s health while serving increasingly diverse communities.
Read: Midwifery’s complicated relationship with gender
5) Maternity’s Big Ask — Neil Stewart
In a year of ongoing scrutiny and high expectations, Neil Stewart’s “Big Ask” resonated as a clear call to action. Readers engaged with the central challenge: what maternity services need—practically, culturally and politically—if we’re serious about safe, compassionate care and a supported workforce.
Read: Maternity’s Big Ask
6) The Hidden Global Burden of Stillbirth — Dr Margaret Murphy
Dr Margaret Murphy’s article drew attention to stillbirth as a global health issue that can be under-recognised, under-discussed and unevenly addressed. Readers returned to this piece for its insistence that stillbirth is not only a statistic, but a profound outcome with lasting impact—one that demands better awareness, better data, and better systems of prevention and care.
Read: The Hidden Global Burden of Stillbirth
7) Navigating Neurodivergence in Perinatal Care: Understanding and Addressing the Needs of Autistic Birthing Individuals — Nicolette Porter
This was one of the most shared and revisited articles of the year, reflecting a growing appetite for practical, person-centred guidance. Nicolette Porter explores how autistic birthing individuals may experience maternity care differently, and what services and professionals can do to understand sensory needs, communication preferences and anxiety triggers—improving both experiences and outcomes.
Read: Navigating Neurodivergence in Perinatal Care
8) Three Enquiries and a Culture War – Untangling the Real Crisis in Maternity Services — Neil Stewart
Few titles captured the year’s mood more directly. Neil Stewart’s analysis examines how we interpret multiple enquiries—and how debate can become polarised—while trying to stay focused on the realities of safety, staffing, leadership and accountability. Readers turned to this piece as they tried to make sense of competing narratives and what meaningful change would actually require.
Read: Three Enquiries and a Culture War – Untangling the Real Crisis in Maternity Services
9) Bridging the gaps in maternity care: Insights from the latest MBRRACE-UK report — Allison Felker and Marian Knight
Readers consistently look for content that connects evidence to action, and this article does exactly that—drawing out key insights from MBRRACE-UK and focusing on the “gaps” services must close. It’s a piece many came back to as a reference point for understanding disparities, identifying priorities, and grounding improvement work in robust national learning.
Read: Bridging the gaps in maternity care: Insights from the latest MBRRACE-UK report
10) What is reported and what is real in Maternity — Neil Stewart
Rounding out the list is another widely read Neil Stewart article, focused on one of the biggest tensions in maternity services: the gap between headlines, narratives, public perception and the lived reality of staff and families. Readers engaged with this piece as they navigated pressure, scrutiny and the need for honest conversation that supports improvement rather than defensiveness.
Read: What is reported and what is real in Maternity
Thank you— what would you like next?
Thank you to everyone who reads, shares and contributes to Maternity & Midwifery Forum. If there’s an issue you want us to cover in 2026—or a perspective you think is missing — please get in touch or submit an article idea.
Wishing all our readers, contributors and the wider maternity and midwifery community a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year — here’s to more insights, conversations and positive change in 2026. We look forward to seeing you back here soon!