The Iolanthe Midwifery Trust and Birthrate Plus Associates Limited are pleased to announce a new midwifery award for 2027 - The Jean Ball Award for Compassionate Maternity Practice.
Honouring the values embodied in Jean Ball’s work, the award is for Midwifery and multidisciplinary leadership that restore compassion, connection, and shared learning to everyday maternity care.
Sally Ashton May, CEO of Birthrate Plus said, "We are delighted to partner with the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust in sponsoring the Jean Ball Award for Compassionate Maternity Practice that will launch in 2027. The Iolanthe Trust plays an essential role in supporting and developing the midwifery profession, and this award reflects the profound impact that compassionate, person‑centred care has on women, birthing people, families, and the teams who care for them.
As one of the original founders of Birthrate Plus, Jean Ball was endlessly driven in showing the importance of compassionate midwifery care and her legacy reminds us that emotional safety, inclusion, and humanity are fundamental to high‑quality maternity services.
Birthrate Plus continues its commitment to championing the midwives who show leadership, innovation, connection, and collaboration that positively transforms everyday experiences into Compassionate maternity care."
Professor Mary Renfrew, Patron of The Iolanthe Midwifery Trust welcomed the award:
This is such a wonderful opportunity to be able to celebrate Jean and her work and we are delighted to be working with Birthrate Plus Associates Limited on this.
Full details of the award will soon be available on the The Iolanthe Midwifery Trust website here for the 2027 application round, which opens on 1 December 2026.