Louise is an experienced midwife and lecturer, with an interest in the impact of intervention and complexity on birth.
Louise qualified as a midwife in 1997 from City University, and worked in a variety of midwifery roles in NHS practice. She joined Anglia Ruskin University in March 2005 and has held a range of roles including Deputy Head of School for Adult Nursing, Deputy Head of Department for Midwifery, Child and Community Nursing, as well as being the module leader for a number of midwifery modules, covering obstetric and medical complexities and emergencies in childbirth, at both undergraduate and Masters level. Louise is particularly interested in the promotion of normal birth for women with complex needs, and the impact of interventions on childbirth.
Between 2010 and 2012 Louise was seconded to the Postgraduate Medical Institute and was the Pathway Lead for Maternity for the North East & North Central London and Essex (NECLES) Health Innovation & Education Cluster (HIEC). This organisation aimed to diffuse innovation and best practice across the NECLES HIEC area, to improve care for women, their babies and families. A key work stream was to contribute to the reduction of Caesarean section rates.
The history of midwifery, particularly the use of technology in midwifery. Louise's PhD was undertaken at the University of Leeds under an AHRC studentship, as a collaborative doctoral award with the Thackray Museum. Her thesis was titled Recovering the clinical history of the vectis: the role of standardised medical education and changing obstetric practice and considered why the vectis disappeared from public consciousness and the history books, while the forceps became the dominant technology in assisting at obstructed births. She completed her PhD in 2019.
Louise supervises a number of students undertaking both undergraduate and postgraduate major projects.
Jenkins, L. 2018. Chapter 57 Recognising the deteriorating woman in Lindsay, P, Peate, I, Bagness, C. 2018. Midwifery Skills at a Glance. Wiley Blackwell, Chichester.
Jenkins, L. 2018. Chapter 61 MEOWS AVPU, GCS and SBAR in Lindsay, P, Peate, I, Bagness, C. 2018. Midwifery Skills at a Glance. Wiley Blackwell, Chichester.
Jenkins, L., 2014. Managing Shoulder Dystocia: understanding and applying RCOG guidance. British Journal of Midwifery 22 (5), 318-324.
Jenkins, L. 2018 ‘An overview of midwifery regulation in the UK and the role of the midwife’ (Seminar Presentation, Chelmsford, Masters Seminar Series).
Jenkins, L. 2017. Midwifery Education for medical practitioners as part of medical regulation in the Nineteenth century. In: De Partu Event. York, UK 26/05/2017.
Jenkins, L., 2015. The use of the Wellcome archive to elucidate the use of the vectis. In: De Partu Seminar. Wellcome Trust. London, UK 03/04/2015.
Jenkins, L., 2015. Midwifery strategies to promote normal childbirth. In: Maternity conference. Southern Medical University. Guangzhou, China 22/08/15.