News and Events

Royal recognition for midwifery fellow

15 June 2010

BU’s School of Health & Social Care is celebrating the award of an OBE to one of its Visiting Fellows.

Suzanne Cunningham, Consultant Midwife at Southampton University Hospital Trust, was named in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to midwifery. A former Senior Lecturer at BU, Mrs Cunningham is a now a Visiting Fellow to the University’s Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health which promotes the health and well-being of women, babies and their families.

Mrs Cunningham was one of the UK’s first two consultant midwives when she left BU for Southampton. Following her appointment as Consultant, she continued to assist the University in the delivery of post-qualifying programmes in leadership and clinical skills, stopping only when she became Clinical Director for Maternity and the Newborn at the South Central Strategic Health Authority.

Mrs Cunningham, who lives near Blandford Forum in Dorset, originally trained as a midwife in Poole.

'This is a great honour for Suzanne, for Bournemouth University and our School of Health and Social Care,” said Professor Paul Curran, Vice-Chancellor. “I am delighted that her career achievements in midwifery have been recognised in this way. We are very proud of her success.”