Mrs Bernadette Gregory

Bernadette Gregory is a Senior Lecturer in Midwifery at DeMontfort University, Leicester where she has taught midwifery issues, social policy and disability awareness to student midwives for many years.

As a nurse and a midwife she developed a particular interest in how disabled women adapt to the challenges of pregnancy. She has undertaken research projects and published work surrounding the issues faced by parents living with a disability in the UK.

Bernadette has published work involving Deaf Parents with the introduction of BSL and Deaf Awareness to student midwives as part of their midwifery course. This gained extensive media interest (including BBC See Hear programme and local and national news programmes). This work was successfully nominated for a national award from Deaf Parenting UK in 2011 particularly praising the collaborative work of De Montfort University working with the voluntary sector and Action Deafness, Leicester.  

• Reproduction Research Group
• Nursing and Midwifery Research Centre

Gregory, B (2011) Breaking through the barriers MidwivesIssue 3:30-32

Gregory B cited in Williams, J (ed) (2011) Midwifery: Survival Guide London Quay Books

Williams, J & Gregory, B (2012) Open Education Resources for Interprofessional Working in Midwifery British Journal of Midwifery 2012:119:3

Click here for a full listing of Bernadette Gregory's publications and outputs.

• Paper published in Disability, Pregnancy & Parenthood International Journal (January 2012).

• Parents with disabilities
• Equality and diversity issues
• Ethnicity
• Cultural competence
• Social policy and how it affects women and families
• High risk pregnancies.
• Curriculum design and innovations
• Co creation of learning and teaching materials

Having spent many years working in health care settings and then many more teaching pre and post registration midwives it is clear that many things have changed in that time. Midwives and maternity services have to respond and adapt to a more culturally diverse population. With changing demographic profiles more women with increasingly complex health needs are presenting for care and are often well informed about their rights and have high expectations of NHS services.

Teaching commitments include helping students address issues surrounding equality and diversity, including disability rights, ethnicity and how social policy decisions affect women and their families.

My research interests have engaged with women as partners in their care and by involving fathers and voluntary organisations it is hoped we can better understand the lived experiences of service users and respond accordingly where there are deficits but also to disseminate best practice.

More recently have becoming involved in a HEFCE funded Catalyst bid with Kingston University as the lead partner but with 6 other HEI's addressing the issues around student attainment as part of a wider Freedom to Achieve project here at DMU.  

• 1982 State Registered Nurse
• 1985 State Registered Midwife
• 1988 Advanced Diploma in Midwifery
• 1991 University of Nottingham Diploma in Adult Education (F/T ENB funded)
• 1994 BA (HONS) Health Studies De Montfort University Leicester
• 2001 Postgraduate Certificate interim award Masters in Adult Learning & Teaching M.A.L.T. course) De Montfort University Bedford 2001
• 2008 University of Sheffield Masters in Midwifery (MMid)
• 2013 Signature Accredited British Sign Language Level 1
• 2014 Signature Accredited British Sign Language Level 2

• BSC (HONS) Midwifery
• BSC (HONS) Nursing

National Deaf Parenting UK Award
Best Practice of Working with Deaf Parents award, London November 2011.

Royal College of Midwives/UCU.

• 1982 State Registered Nurse
• 1985 State Registered Midwife
• 1988 Advanced Diploma in Midwifery
• 1991 University of Nottingham Diploma in Adult Education (F/T ENB funded)
• 1994 BA (HONS) Health Studies De Montfort University Leicester
• 2001 Postgraduate Certificate interim award Masters in Adult Learning & Teaching M.A.L.T. course) De Montfort University Bedford 2001
• 2008 University of Sheffield Masters in Midwifery (MMid)
• 2013 Signature Accredited British Sign Language Level 1
• 2014 Signature Accredited British Sign Language Level 2 

Part of the project team working across the University, primarily within the Health and Life Sciences Faculty, in a Fair Outcomes Champion role, as part of a HEFCE funded Catalyst bid with Kingston University as the lead partner but with 6 other HEI's addressing the issues around student attainment as part of a wider Freedom to Achieve project here at DMU.

 

• 05 March 11 “Inclusive support for parents with learning disabilities” Mencap/ACT and NCT
• 22 March 11 Action Deafness conference “Making Deaf families Visible in Leicester” report on Parenting Programme – interdisciplinary agencies involved.

  2011 Poster presentation Health and Wellbeing national study day at DMU

  2011Poster presentation Assets for health and wellbeing conference at the British Museum London organised by University of Hertfordshire

  2011 Poster presentation at RCM Annual Conference Brighton

  2011 Paper presentation at RCM Annual Conference Brighton

  2013 Poster presentation at research excellence study day DMU

  2013 Paper at Birthrights Conference London  

• 2009 – 2010 Reviewer for dppi organisation contributing to the publication of “Pregnancy, birth and early parenthood – a guide for physically disabled parents."
• Reviewer for MIDIRS - International publication and collection of resources available online and in hard back format http;//www.midirs.org
• September 2009 – September 2013   External Examiner for pre-registration BSC (Hons) Midwifery at  Kingston & St Georges University, London

• 2010 - Collaborated in adaptation of an American textbook for a British readership. Published as Maternal- Neonatal Care Made Incredibly Easy.

  February 2013   External panel member for revalidation BSC/MSC Midwifery University of West of Scotland

  November 2014 External panel member for periodic review BSC Midwifery Edge Hill University Ormskirk

  September 2015 - present  External Examiner for pre-registration BSC (Hons) Midwifery & mentor course (Midwifery) Sheffield Hallam University

  2013-2016 Trustee at Action Deafness, Leicester

• 2008 - EMHWD funded project awarded to engage with local parents living with a disability. Parent narratives created from their stories and used as educational tools throughout the Faculty as an online E learning resource as part of the TIGER JISC funded project.
• 2010 - Helped organise and undertook Deaf awareness and Introduction to BSL classes at DMU in association with local Action Deafness organisation facilitated by myself and Dr Joanna Downes, Programme Parenting Manager at AD.
• 2011-2012 Wored with Jacqui Williams on creating midwifery specific OER materials to use as part of MORE JISC funded project.

• 2011 - RIF bid successful and monies awarded to create a research proposal entitled, "A qualitative study exploring Deaf parents' lived experiences of using maternity and neonatal services across the UK.”
• 2011 - RIF bid successful and £802.50 awarded to explore the experiences of deaf women using maternity services. Collaboration with Action Deafness Leicester and Queens University in Belfast and potentially University of Leicester. (Principal Investigator)

• Reviewer for MIDIRS /NCT - International publication and collection of resources available online and in hard back format.
• Reviewer for Cochrane database book