Project Lead
Freya Fleer-Stout
Lead partner
Royal Women’s Hospital
Informed decision-making is an important part of maternity care, though it can be difficult to support consistently in everyday practice.
VOICE is a co-designed, practical tool that reimagines the traditional birth plan to support informed decision-making. It enables personalised care by creating a shared understanding between women, midwives and obstetricians of individual values, preferences and information needs. Designed to integrate within existing clinical workflows, VOICE supports individualised, woman-centred care without adding burden to clinicians.
VOICE strengthens women’s involvement in decisions about their care, helping embed informed, shared decision-making into everyday practice. This project will build on The Women’s reputation as a leader in delivering exceptional experiences for women and families by supporting respectful maternity care.
Through the Fellowship, I’m excited to combine midwifery and research to ensure the work remains grounded in the needs of women and clinicians. By supporting midwifery-led research, The Women’s and MacHSR are investing in clinician-led innovation that can translate frontline knowledge into practical, sustainable solutions to improve care for women, families and healthcare teams.