Sara Cumming

Sara is a clinical Research Fellow at the School of Health Sciences and member of the Mother, Infant and Child Health Research Group (MIRU). She is also a Registered Midwife and continues to work clinically.  

Sara completed her BSc in Midwifery Studies at University of Brighton in 2012 and worked for several years across London and Brighton before returning to Scotland working with NHS Tayside as a community midwife.  

She began her research career in August 2021 as a Clinical Academic Fellow with MIRU and has continued as Research Fellow. Her main research interests are reducing maternal health inequalities for vulnerable and marginalised groups and improving birth experiences for all. She was awarded the Wellbeing of Women/Royal College of Midwives Entry-Level Research Scholarship for Midwives and led qualitative research with homeless pregnant women in temporary accommodation in the UK. The research focussed on pregnancy impact and experiences of living in temporary accommodation and is currently submitted for publication and dissemination. Further research interests and experiences within MIRU have involved perinatal mental health research and supporting the recent Cochrane review on Support for healthy breastfeeding women with healthy term infants led by Professor Alison McFadden at MIRU.  

Sara also has a background in Social Anthropology and is currently continuing this with a part-time PhD in Social Anthropology exploring donor breast milk use in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Scotland.