Dr Nicola Vousden MBBS, MSc, PhD, MPH
Clinical Lecturer in Maternal and Child Population Health nicola.vousden@npeu.ox.ac.uk
Biography
Nicky Vousden is a Public Health Consultant and Clinical Lecturer in Maternal and Child Population Health. Her work focuses on improving outcomes for women and babies, particularly those experiencing disadvantage, by combining clinical experience with public health research.
Nicky graduated in medicine from King's College London in 2011. She worked clinically across general medicine and Obstetrics and Gynaecology before obtaining her PhD in Women's Health from King's College London in 2019, for which she led an international trial and process evaluation to improve maternal health systems. Since completing her MSc in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, she has analysed national data on pregnancy and infection, which has informed national and international guidelines.
Nicky is committed to collaboration and capacity-building. She teaches and supervises students, supports early-career researchers, and works closely with policymakers and charity partners to ensure research informs practice. She has also contributed to national policy through her work with England's Chief Medical Officer.
Nicky is working on PRiSMM to developing a new approach to collect data to measure maternal morbidity and evaluate a new national maternity care bundle, alongside undertaking mixed methods research to reduce health inequalities and improve care for women and families.
Publications
Impact of maternal risk factors on ethnic disparities in maternal mortality: a national population-based cohort study. Vousden N, Geddes-Barton, D., Bunch K, Kenyon S et al. The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 403, 11406, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2024.100893
Interventions to reduce inequalities for pregnant women living with disadvantage in high-income countries: an umbrella review. Vousden N, Geddes-Barton, D., Hanley, SJ et al. BMC Public Health 25, 1140. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22283-5
Achieving equitable maternal health services in the UK. Knight M, Patel R, Harmer C, Vousden N. BMJ 2025; 389 :r875 doi:10.1136/bmj.r875
Characteristics, outcomes, and maternity care experiences of women with children's social care involvement who subsequently died: national cohort study and confidential enquiry. De Backer K, Felker AM, Rose E, Bull C, Labisi O, Kitchen K, Vousden N. BMJ Medicine. 2025;4:e001464. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjmed-2025-001464
Maternal and Infant Outcomes for Women Experiencing Homelessness Before and During Pregnancy: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Geddes‐Barton D; Goldacre R; Luchenski S; Daniels C; D′Arcy R; Knight M; Vousden N. BJOG, 132: 2265-2274. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.70050
Facilitating participation in clinical trials during pregnancy. Vousden N, Haynes R, Findlay S et al. BMJ. 2023; 380:e071278
Management and implications of severe COVID-19 in pregnancy in the UK: Data from the UK Obstetric Surveillance System national cohort. Vousden N, Ramakrisnan R, Bunch K, et al. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2022; 101:461-470
Severity of maternal infection and perinatal outcomes during periods of SARS-CoV-2 wildtype, alpha and delta variant dominance in the UK: prospective cohort study. Vousden N, Ramakrisnan R, Bunch K, et al. BMJ Medicine. 2022; 1:e000053
The incidence, characteristics and outcomes of pregnant women hospitalized with symptomatic and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in the UK from March to September 2020: a national cohort study using the UK Obstetric Surveillance System. Vousden N, Bunch K, Morris E et al. PLOS One. 2021; 16(5): e0251123
Incidence, risk factors and impact of seasonal influenza in pregnancy: A national cohort study. Vousden N, Bunch, K, Knight M, et al. PLOS One, 2021, 16(1):e0244986
Incidence and characteristics of pregnancy-related death across ten low- and middle-income geographical regions: secondary analysis of a cluster randomised controlled trial. Vousden N, Homes E, Seed PT et al. BJOG. 2020. 127: 1082-89
Lessons learned from the A(H1N1) influenza pandemic. Vousden N, Knight M. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2020, S1521-6934(20)30157-7
Exploring the effect of implementation and context on a stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial of a vial sign triage device in routine maternity care in low-resource settings. Vousden N, Lawley, E, Seed, PT et al. Implement Sci. 2019, 14(1):38
Incidence of eclampsia and related complications across 10 low- and middle-resource geographical regions: Secondary analysis of a cluster randomised controlled trial. Vousden N, Lawley, E, Seed, PT et al. PLoS Med, 2019, 16(3):1002775
Effect of a novel vital sign device on maternal mortality and morbidity in low-resource settings: a pragmatic, stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised controlled trial. Vousden N, Lawley E, Nathan HL et al. The Lancet, Global health, 2019, 7(3): e347-e356
Evaluation of a novel vital sign device to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in low-resource settings: a mixed method feasibility study for the CRADLE-3 trial. Vousden N, Lawley E, Nathan HL, et al. BMCpregnancy and childbirth, 2018,18(1):115
What is the impact of preconception abdominal cerclage on fertility: Evidence from a randomized-controlled trial. Vousden N, Carter J, Seed P, Shennan A. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 2017; 96(5):543-546
Assessment of a vaginal device for delivery of the impacted foetal head at caesarean section. Vousden N,Tydeman G, Briley A, Seed P, Shennan A. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2017. 37(2): 157-161
