Dr Zoe Bradfield’s work is challenging the way we care for women and shines a light on the impact of the industrialisation of one of the most fundamental of human experiences – having a baby. The consequences of systems-orientated care is that some will receive health interventions ‘too much, too soon’ and others, ‘too little, too late’.
Dr Bradfield is committed to the equity and justice-making mechanisms of research and advocacy. She leads transdisciplinary research teams using clinical trials and multi method studies. Much of her research holds a mirror up to practitioners and the system, delivering evidence on where and how we can do better, and reach more of the individuals who need help the most.
Dr Bradfield’s research is currently focused on optimising maternal health to reduce the rates of induction of labour that have exponentially increased in the last decade. Levels of medical intervention have been climbing but we’ve not shifted the maternal mortality rates and some morbidity data are worsening. Her current clinical trial is exploring whether melatonin supplementation may support spontaneous labour and reduce the need for unnecessary interventions in labour.
2024