Amy Miller

Project Title: Engagement with antenatal education in Nottingham: Working with hardly reached communities to improve place-based inclusivity and wellbeing

What were you doing before starting this PhD?

I worked as a cleaner, in retail and in coffee shops, then I had children and was at home with them for 12 years. During that time I did a lot of research and writing on postnatal physical and mental health, and created a postnatal guide for pregnant mothers. When I applied for the PhD I had just finished an apprenticeship to become a teaching assistant. 

What motivated you to apply for this specific PhD project?

I have experienced how the maternal care system in Nottingham creates trauma for mothers and children, and I wanted to be a part of creating viable new systems that centred the experience of young, racialised, working-class and otherwise stigmatised mothers. 

What difference do you hope to make in Nottingham through this research? 

I think we underestimate how much impact mothers’ experiences of pregnancy, birth and postpartum have on women, on their children and on society. I think research about how to treat mothers, how to care for mothers and how to educate mothers could have far reaching physical and phycological benefits for future generations. I want mums, especially those of us who are underestimated and stigmatised, to have the happiest and healthiest start to motherhood possible. I hope the research I get to do with them helps to create more dignity, more respect, more love, more health and more hope. 

What do you hope to be doing in 5 years’ time? (personally and/or professionally) 

Working with and serving mothers and children in Nottingham.