Janine Absalom RM, DipHE, BSc Hons, MSc

Janine trained at King’s College London and began her midwifery career across South East London NHS Trusts, gaining broad experience in community midwifery, antenatal and postnatal care, delivery suite, and caseload and group practice models. She later joined Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW), progressing from rotational midwife to Delivery Suite Coordinator in 2008. In 2011, she moved to the standalone, midwifery-led Maidstone Birth Centre as a senior clinical midwife, becoming Ward Manager in 2016. She continued to work clinically while leading the service.

In 2021, Janine joined the maternity governance team on secondment as Project Midwife and supported CNST and NIPE Lead, before achieving promotion to Matron for Community and Birth Centres across MTW. Throughout her leadership journey, she maintained a strong clinical presence and supported midwifery teams across a large geographical area.

Janine’s clinical interests include low-risk midwifery care, home births, midwifery-led births, complex enhanced personalised care planning, waterbirth, and physiological breech birth. She is trained in acupuncture, aromatherapy and reflex zone therapy, and advocates for holistic, woman-centred care. Janine is also trained to administer PGD’s.

In her academic role, Janine teaches across the undergraduate midwifery programme. She contributes to teaching on topics aligned with her areas of expertise, including physiological birth, breech presentation, and personalised care planning.

Janine holds a diploma and degree in midwifery, mentorship and NIPE qualifications, and a master's in healthcare leadership through the NHS Leadership Academy (Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme). She is also qualified as a Professional Midwifery Advocate and will begin her Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education in October 2025.

Alongside her university role, Janine remains clinically active as a midwifery vaccinator and in community settings, contributes to PROMPT training, and collaborates with service users and professionals to support physiological birth choices.

Posts held previously:

• 2022 -2025 Matron for Community Midwives and Birth Centres at MTW
• 2021- 2022 Projects/CNST/NIPE Midwife at MTW
• 2016 - 2021 Midwifery Ward Manager (Birth Centre) at MTW
• 2011 - 2016 Senior Midwife Birth Centre Band 7 at MTW
• 2008 - 2011 Delivery Suite Coordinator Ban 7 at MTW
• 2006 - 2008 Rotational Midwife Band 6 at MTW
• 2002 - 2006 Rotational Midwife Band 6 at PRUH