Conversations in Fetal Medicine – Details, episodes & analysis

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Welcome to the second episode of season six, in conversation with Professor Tom Shakespeare. 

Professor Shakespeare's Bio:

Tom Shakespeare is a sociologist and bioethicist. He is Professor of Disability Research at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, having worked at several UK universities and WHO. He is a former member of Nuffield Council on Bioethics and Arts Council England. His books include The Sexual Politics of Disability (1996) and Disability Rights and Wrongs (2006) and most recently the novels The Ha-ha (2024) and The Ends (2025).

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics report that we discussed is called Non-invasive prenatal testing: ethical issues and can be found via this link: https://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/publication/non-invasive-prenatal-testing-ethical-issues/

Podcast information:

We have not included any patient identifiable information, and this podcast is intended for professional education rather than patient information (although welcome anyone interested in the field to listen). Please get in touch with feedback or suggestions for future guests or topics: conversationsinfetalmed@gmail.com, or via X, Bluesky or Instagram via @fetalmedcast.

Music by Crowander ('Acoustic romance') used under creative commons licence. Podcast created, hosted and edited by Dr Jane Currie.

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Welcome to the first episode of season six, in conversation with Dr Emma Ferriman.

Dr Ferriman's Bio:

Dr Ferriman graduated from Liverpool Medical School in 1990. From 2001 to 2016, she served as a Consultant in Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine in Leeds, before taking up her current role in Sheffield in 2016. 

She currently holds the role of President of the British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society (BMFMS), Her clinical expertise spans high-risk pregnancies, multile pregnancies, prenatal diagnosis and screening. 

In addition to her medical practice, Emma is actively involved in medicolegal work, serving as an adviser to the General Medicine Council (GMC) and the Medical Protection Society (MPS). She is also an editor and author, contributing to various medicolegal publications. 

Some of the things we discussed included: 

BMFMS: https://www.bmfms.org.uk/default.aspx

The next BMFMS conference will be on 26-27 March in Leeds, UK, and registration and abstract submission is open now: https://bmfmsconference.co.uk/2026/en/page/home

Dr Anthony Hart, paediatric neurologist, who has published many papers including Hart et al (2021) Antenatal counselling for prospective parents whose fetus has a neurological anomaly: part 1, experiences and recommendations for service design (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dmcn.15022)

Podcast information:

We have not included any patient identifiable information, and this podcast is intended for professional education rather than patient information (although welcome anyone interested in the field to listen). Please get in touch with feedback or suggestions for future guests or topics: conversationsinfetalmed@gmail.com, or via X, Bluesky or Instagram via @fetalmedcast.

Music by Crowander ('Acoustic romance') used under creative commons licence. Podcast created, hosted and edited by Dr Jane Currie.

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Welcome to the third episode of season four of Conversations in Fetal Medicine, where we speak to Professor Jenny Myers.

Professor Myers' bio:

Jenny is Professor of Obstetrics & Maternal Medicine within the Maternal & Fetal Health Research Centre, University of Manchester and Consultant Obstetrician, St Mary’s Hospital. As an obstetrician, Jenny is part of the Maternal Medicine team and leads two translational research clinics for women with hypertension and diabetes. She is also the Hospital Chief Clinical Informatics Officer for St Mary’s Managed Clinical Service (18000 births).

She currently runs a portfolio of clinical and laboratory science studies which span vascular and placental biology research, preclinical models, observational cohort studies and intervention trials before, during and after pregnancy.

Jenny is the chief/principal investigator for several multicenter studies related to
hypertension and diabetes in pregnancy. Jenny is a Consulting Editor for Plos Medicine,
President of the RCOG Blair Bell Research Society, obstetric advisor for the National
Diabetes in Pregnancy Audit and has served on several NICE committees.

World Pre-eclampsia Day 2024:

This is on May 22nd 2024. Find out more about it from APEC (Action on Pre-eclampsia) here:

https://action-on-pre-eclampsia.org.uk/world-pre-eclampsia-day/

Phoenix study:

Find out more about the Phoenix study here:
Chappell LC, Brocklehurst P, Green ME, Hunter R, Hardy P, Juszczak E, Linsell L, Chiocchia V, Greenland M, Placzek A, Townend J, Marlow N, Sandall J, Shennan A; PHOENIX Study Group. Planned early delivery or expectant management for late preterm pre-eclampsia (PHOENIX): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2019 Sep

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2819%2931963-4/fulltext

Podcast information:

We have not included any patient identifiable information, and this podcast is intended for professional education rather than patient information (although welcome anyone interested in the field to listen). Please get in touch with feedback or suggestions for future guests or topics: conversationsinfetalmed@gmail.com, or via Twitter (X) or Instagram via @fetalmedcast.

Music by Crowander ('Acoustic romance') used under creative commons licence. Podcast created, hosted and edited by Dr Jane Currie.

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Welcome to the second episode of season four of Conversations in Fetal Medicine, where we speak to Professor Katia Bilardo.

Professor Bilardo's bio:

Katia Bilardo is an Italian gynaecologist, Professore, who practised in The Netherlands (University of Amsterdam and Groningen). She trained at King's College Hospital with Prof. Stuart Campbell and Prof. Kypros Nicolaides in the 1980s. Among her achievements: ISUOG President (2018-2020), awardee Stuart Campbell award for Education (2022). She has mentored over 20 Phd Thesis.

Podcast information:

We have not included any patient identifiable information, and this podcast is intended for professional education rather than patient information (although welcome anyone interested in the field to listen). Please get in touch with feedback or suggestions for future guests or topics: conversationsinfetalmed@gmail.com, or via Twitter (X) or Instagram via @fetalmedcast.

Music by Crowander ('Acoustic romance') used under creative commons licence. Podcast created, hosted and edited by Dr Jane Currie.

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Welcome to the sixth episode of season three of Conversations in Fetal Medicine, where we speak to Sally Boxall, now a specialist nurse in Fetal Medicine in Southampton but consultant nurse in that unit for more than two decades until she semi-retired. It's the last one for this season, but we will definitely be back for more in a few months. Keep an eye out for a special bonus episode too (fingers crossed)!

Sally Boxall's bio in her own words:

Specialist nurse in Fetal Medicine, Wessex Fetal Medicine Unit, Southampton

I initially trained as a nurse alongside a degree in life sciences at Liverpool university back in the dark ages, and then did my midwifery training in Southampton. Rather than working as a midwife I became the first specialist nurse in genetics in the Wessex Region, and then after 10 years, in 1996, was offered a post as a specialist nurse within the newly created Wessex fetal medicine unit. In 2000 I was appointed as a consultant nurse in fetal medicine and continued in that role until I semi-retired in 2022. I now work part-time as a specialist nurse and spend the rest of my time being a lady that lunches. Married with 2 grown up daughters, 2 grand-daughters and a manic dog.

Podcast information:

We have not included any patient identifiable information, and this podcast is intended for professional education rather than patient information (although welcome anyone interested in the field to listen). Please get in touch with feedback or suggestions for future guests or topics: conversationsinfetalmed@gmail.com, or via Twitter (X) or Instagram via @fetalmedcast.

Music by Crowander ('Acoustic romance') used under creative commons licence. Podcast created, hosted and edited by Dr Jane Currie.

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Welcome to the fifth episode of season three of Conversations in Fetal Medicine, where we speak to Dr Graham Tydeman.

Dr Tydeman's bio:

Graham Tydeman is a consultant obstetrician with subspecialty interest in fetal medicine who retired a few years ago but has found he’s not very good at it. He worked full-time in Fife for over 20 years and now focusses on medical innovation and invention with associated research. When not paragliding, sailing or in his shed, with his wife, he spends as much time with their 3 daughters as possible each of which has collaborated in various medical projects: the eldest is a producer and made the blood clock video; the middle is a product design engineer and worked on his cerclage simulator and the youngest is a post doc medical statistician at Kings and  they published their first Tydeman Tydeman paper together last year.
(Editor's note - life goals, right there. Love it. )

Amnio Abby:

https://www.adam-rouilly.co.uk/products/clinical-skills-simulators/ultrasound-training-models/ar60-amnio-abby-ultrasound-guided-invasive-procedures-simulator

Graham's Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/strathenry

Podcast information:

We have not included any patient identifiable information, and this podcast is intended for professional education rather than patient information (although welcome anyone interested in the field to listen). Please get in touch with feedback or suggestions for future guests or topics: conversationsinfetalmed@gmail.com, or via Twitter (X) or Instagram via @fetalmedcast.

Music by Crowander ('Acoustic romance') used under creative commons licence. Podcast created, hosted and edited by Dr Jane Currie.

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Welcome to the fourth episode of season three of Conversations in Fetal Medicine, where we talk to Professor Sue Walker.

Professor Walker's bio:

Professor Sue Walker AO, FAAHMS is the Head of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health at The University of Melbourne since 2016 and is also the Chair of the Division of Perinatal Medicine and Clinical Director, Maternal Fetal Medicine at the Mercy Hospital for Women. She is the inaugural Sheila Handbury Chair of Maternal Fetal Medicine, University of Melbourne, and is the co-director of Mercy Perinatal - a 3 pillar centre committed to clinical care, education and research in high-risk pregnancy. Her research interests include improving the detection and management of fetal growth disorders, stillbirth prevention, therapeutics for pre-eclampsia, perinatal epidemiology and the impact of Sleep Disordered Breathing on perinatal outcomes.

Mercy Perinatal mailing list:

If anyone would like to jump on the Mercy Perinatal mailing list so they can receive invitations to Fetal Medicine at Twilight, Global Obstetric Update and their regular ‘Journal Club on the Run’ emails, feel free to drop them a line  on mercyperinatal@mercy.com.au.

The K-ISBAR tool:

de Senneville LL, Brewin A, Thomas A, Calvert K. A qualitative analysis of adding kindness into the ISBAR handover tool. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2022 Dec;62(6):901-905. doi: 10.1111/ajo.13607. Epub 2022 Sep 12. PMID: 36097379.

Podcast information:

We have not included any patient identifiable information, and this podcast is intended for professional education rather than patient information (although welcome anyone interested in the field to listen). Please get in touch with feedback or suggestions for future guests or topics: conversationsinfetalmed@gmail.com, or via Twitter (X) or Instagram via @fetalmedcast.

Music by Crowander ('Acoustic romance') used under creative commons licence. Podcast created, hosted and edited by Dr Jane Currie.

Send a text

Welcome to the third episode of season three of Conversations in Fetal Medicine, where we talk to Hayley Manning, host of the brilliant podcast Time To Talk TFMR (Termination for Medical Reasons).

Hayley Manning:

Hayley is a counsellor and therapist, who after her own termination for medical reasons (TFMR), went on to create the podcast Time To Talk TFMR to explore the issues surrounding this often not openly discussed subject. Guests range from others who’ve experienced TFMR, to health professionals working with this patient group.

Time to Talk TFMR podcast:

https://talktfmr.buzzsprout.com/

Antenatal results and choices (ARC) supports Time to Talk TFMR podcast:

https://www.arc-uk.org/for-parents/break-the-silence-around-tfmr/

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We have not included any patient identifiable information, and this podcast is intended for professional education rather than patient information (although welcome anyone interested in the field to listen). Please get in touch with feedback or suggestions for future guests or topics: conversationsinfetalmed@gmail.com, or via Twitter (X) or Instagram via @fetalmedcast.

Music by Crowander ('Acoustic romance') used under creative commons licence. Podcast created, hosted and edited by Dr Jane Currie.

Send a text

Welcome to the second episode of season three of Conversations in Fetal Medicine, where we talk to Professor John Kingdom.

Prof Kingdom's bio:

John Kingdom is a consultant in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Obstetrics at Mount Sinai
Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada, where he established their Placenta Clinic in 1999 with his career-long friend Rory Windrim. English by birth, John lived in the southern counties, then in the “Troubles” of Northern Ireland, before medical school Dublin, where he graduated from Trinity College in 1984. Living in the busy Rotunda Hospital in Dublin for 3 months, followed by a summer elective at the Fetal Medicine centre at the Queen Mother’s Hospital Glasgow, the home of Obstetric Ultrasound, set him firmly on his career path. He spent the next decade as a trainee in Glasgow, before moving to UCH, London to one of the very few UK subspecialty training positions at that time in Fetal Medicine. He held a senior lecturer position at UCL for only 3 years, before making the decision to cross the Pond to take up a unique opportunity as a clinician-scientist in major MFM centre. There he managed a molecular pathology research lab linked with his work as a high-risk Obstetrician, producing over 400 basic and more clinical publications thus far in his career, including guidelines on placenta accreta spectrum disorder and fetal growth restriction. In 2017, John led the first launch of real-time placenta growth factor testing (PlGF) in North America, which in 2023 is fast changing many aspects of care in our specialty.

Since 2013, John has been Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, spanning a city of over 6 million. With over 300 consultants across all sub-specialities, working in a citywide network of 10 hospitals and over 40,000 births annually, UofT ObGyn now ranks second to Harvard. Mount Sinai MFM Division of over 20 consultants provides 24/7 in-house care in all dimension of Fetal Medicine, and is home to both the Ontario Fetal Centre and a new Complex Obstetrics Surgery program. Their city-wide MFM fellowship currently has 12 subspecialty trainees in 2-3 year programs, as a mix of Canadian and International trainees, including from the UK. John’s current passion beyond his own research focuses on mentorship across the fellowship to consultant transition, and ongoing academic career development. In Fall 2023 he was elected to fellowship of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Podcast information:

We have not included any patient identifiable information, and this podcast is intended for professional education rather than patient information (although welcome anyone interested in the field to listen). Please get in touch with feedback or suggestions for future guests or topics: conversationsinfetalmed@gmail.com, or via Twitter (X) or Instagram via @fetalmedcast.

Music by Crowander ('Acoustic romance') used under creative commons licence. Podcast created, hosted and edited by Dr Jane Currie.