Midwives

Overview 

The Midwifery Strategic Advisory Group (MSAG) brings together senior midwives, Chief Midwifery Officers from across the four countries of the UK, and representatives from education, policy, and organisations representing those with lived experience. The group meets four times a year and provides the NMC with expert advice and insight on matters relating to midwifery practice and regulation.

The MSAG helps ensure that our approach to midwifery regulation reflects contemporary practice and the realities faced by midwives and people using maternity services. Through open discussion and collaboration, it strengthens public protection and supports our ambition to promote safe, effective, and kind care across the UK.

Objectives  

  • Draw on the expertise, insight, and lived experience of midwifery professionals and stakeholders to inform, shape, and challenge the NMC’s regulatory and strategic priorities.
  • Work in partnership with midwifery professionals to co-design the NMC’s strategic direction for the future of midwifery regulation, guided by the NMC’s values of Integrity, Fairness, Respect, Equity, and Effectiveness.
  • Strengthen collaboration between the NMC and the midwifery community to inform policy development and operational decisions that uphold safe, kind, and effective care for the public.
  • Identify emerging issues and trends in midwifery practice and regulation early, ensuring that the NMC can respond proactively and effectively.
  • Regularly review the group’s purpose and impact to ensure it remains relevant and aligned with the NMC’s values, strategic goals, and culture transformation commitments.

Read the MSAG terms of reference to find out more about their purpose.

If you have any questions about our MSAG, please email us here 

Previous meetings

Meet the members of the Midwifery strategic advisory group (MSAG)

Meet the members of the Midwifery strategic advisory group (MSAG). The MSAG is made up of the Chief Midwifery Officers from the four countries of the UK, the Chief Nursing Officer for England, representatives from the Royal College of Midwives and other leading midwifery figures.

Angela Graves - Council of Deans of Health representative, Head of the School of Healthcare, University of Leeds

Arezou Rezvani - Consultant Midwife and Co-chair of the Royal College of Midwives Consultant Midwife Forum

Benash Nazmeen - Assistant Professor of Midwifery at the University of Bradford and registered midwife 

Birte Harlev-Lam OBE - Midwifery Strategic Advisory Group (MSAG) Chair

Carmel Bagness - Professional Lead for Midwifery & Women's Health, Royal College of Nursing

Caroline Keown – Chief Midwifery Officer, Department of Health for Northern Ireland (NI)

Dr Clea Harmer - Chief Executive of Sands

Gill Walton - Chief Executive, Royal College of Midwives

Gwendolen Bradshaw - Emeritus Professor, University of Bradford

Kimberley Salmon-Jamieson - Interim Deputy Trust Chief Executive & Chief Nursing Officer

Imelda Smyth - Midwifery Service User, Northern Ireland

Jacqui Williams - Senior Midwifery Advisor (Education), Nursing and Midwifery Council

Jamie Morris - Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Lead Midwife, Welsh Government

Julia Sanders - Professor of Clinical Midwifery at Cardiff University.

Justine Craig - Chief Midwifery Officer for Scotland

Kate Brintworth - Chief Midwifery Officer for NHS England

Karen Jewell - Chief Midwifery Officer, Welsh Government

Kerry Phillips - Midwifery lecturer at Cardiff University,

Nafiza Anwar - Co-Founder of the Association of South Asian Midwives (ASAM)

Naomi Delap - Director of Birth Companions

Rachel Best - Chair of the Lead Midwives for Education UK Network

Sophie Dodd - Second year student midwife at Swansea University

Stephanie Pease - Director of Midwifery and Nursing for the Maternity and Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital Care Group for Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital

Thomas McEwan - Principal Educator, Women’s, Children, Young People and Families team

Tracey MacCormack - Assistant Director for Midwifery, Nursing and Midwifery Council

Verena Wallace - Senior Midwifery Adviser (Policy), Nursing and Midwifery Council

NMC Membership policy summary

This policy is aimed at anyone who is currently involved or is seeking to be involved in one of the NMC’s engagement groups. It does not apply to NMC employees, any of the NMC’s governing bodies, Council, committees or panels as defined in our rules or to contractors who support the delivery of NMC operations. The NMC is committed to ensuring that the membership of our engagement groups reflects the nursing, nursing associate and midwifery professions and the communities they support across the UK’s four nations. We recognise our responsibility to reach out to a diverse range of external partners and the value that comes from hearing from a broad range of people.

We are also committed to upholding our public sector equality duty as part of the Equality Act 2010 (and our applicable equality duties in Northern Ireland) by integrating consideration of equality into how we establish and operate engagement groups. The NMC’s values are to be fair, kind, ambitious and collaborative. These values are at the core of the experience we want people to consistently receive when they join our groups and this policy has been written in line with them.

Read the Membership policy summary

Payment and expenses policy

This document explains why, when and how we pay expenses and involvement payments to members of the public and others who get involved with our work. It is in three sections; a policy for out of pocket expenses, a policy for involvement payment and a list of resources which may be helpful.

The document is aimed at people who are involved with us as part of one of our strategic groups or other engagement initiatives, and whose expenses for participating are not covered in another way, such as by an employer or another organisation they work with.

Read the payment and expenses policy