Anita Beckwith
Course Leader
Session One - Optimising Health From The Start: The Importance of Preconception Nutrition
Session Five - Optimising Diabetes Management in Pregnancy: Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes
Session Nine - Empowering Innovation & Sharing Ideas: Exploring Service Development Ideas and Projects in Preconception, Pregnancy and Postpartum
Anita works in both the NHS and private practice.
Anita has led the Specialist Diabetes Dietetic and DAFNE services at King’s College Hospital for over 17 years. Her roles at King’s and within the DAFNE UK Consortium have enabled her special interest in therapeutic patient education in intensified insulin therapies; developing and education packages for both patients and HCPs alike.
Anita works in both the preconception and pregnancy services at King’s, supporting patients with type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes through their pregnancy journeys.
In her private practice, Anita supports women and men with and without diabetes through their fertility, preconception and pregnancy journeys.
Anita is a certified fertility and prenatal dietitian through Nutrition Plus and is a Nutrition Plus member of Nutrition Plus, an internationally organisation which specialises in reproductive and prenatal nutrition.
Anita completed her Masters in Advanced Diabetes Practice at King’s College London in 2013. She is actively involved in continuing research programmes within both institutions and has undertaken research in Type 1 Disordered Eating, DAFNE including psychology and technology to enhance self-Management (DAFNEplus) and was educator lead for the King’s Diabetes Team in the national DAFNE REPOSE RCT.
Anita sits on both the BDA Diabetes and Maternal and Fertility Specialist Group (DSG and MNFSG) Committees, and is the dietetic representative of the iDEAL Diabetes Group. Within her role at DSG Anita developed the Advanced Practitioner role and specialist qualities of a dietitian practicing within diabetes, particularly focusing on pre- and post-qualification dietetic training. This resulted in the inception and development of a Masters level Medicines Management course and post-registration Diabetes Dietetic MSc modules.
Anita led on the pilot of this Nutritional Management in Pregnancy Course in 2020, and is pleased to lead on this iteration of the course again.
Eugenia Grand
Session One - The Development of a Fertility Wellbeing and Weight Management Service
Eugenia is a Registered Dietitian and member of the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) & the British Dietetic Association (BDA). She holds a Bachelor Degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Tartu and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nutrition & Dietetics from Aberdeen & Robert Gordon University. Over the years, Eugenia has worked both in the NHS and private sector, covering various specialities including; nutritional support in adults, gastroenterology, weight management in children and adults, gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes prevention and remission, allergies in children, oncology, and nutrition in critically ill (intensive care). She currently works as a specialist fertility dietitian developing a new service for patients planning fertility treatments in NHS. As a freelancer, Eugenia specialises in women & health, female and male fertility and pregnancy nutrition.
Dr Margaret Charnley (PhD, FHEA, RNutr (Public Health)
Session Two - Food, Nutrition and Food Safety During Pregnancy: Nourishing Mum and Baby
Lecturer in Nutrition & Food Sciences at Liverpool Hope University.
Margaret is an Association for Nutrition registered nutritionist in Public Health with a keen interest in the effects of nutrition on human health, particularly with regard to obesity, pregnancy and the trans-generational impact of intra-uterine programming on foetal development. Evidence from epidemiological, observational and animal model studies has shown a disparity between the intra-uterine nutritional environment and the obesogenic environment into which offspring are born, increasing the risk for obesity, coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes in later life. Margaret is interested in improving the nutritional status of pregnant women and particularly pregnant women with obesity and has provided nutritional education to both practising and student midwives at various institutions and locations in the UK.
Dr Julie Abayomi
Session Two - Nutritional Requirements & Supplementation During Pregnancy: Supporting Optimal Maternal and Foetal Health
Session Four - Nutritional Considerations for Weight Gain in Pregnancy
Associate Head of Applied Health and Social Care (Edgehill University)
Dr Julie Abayomi is a Reader in Dietetics & Associate Head of Applied Health & Social care at Edge Hill University (EHU) in Lancashire, UK. She graduated as a dietitian in 1993 and worked as an NHS dietitian for over 20 years, specialising in women’s health for 12 years. In 2010 Julie was awarded a PhD. Research interests include: overweight and underweight in
pregnancy; nutrition intake during pregnancy and nutrition education of midwives. Currently Julie manages the nutrition and health team at EHU and is responsible for the BSc Nutrition & health and MSc Public Health Nutrition programmes.
Kate Maslin
Session Three - Complications of Pregnancy: The Evidence: Hyperemesis Gravidarum
I am a senior research fellow in maternal and child health and lecturer in dietetics at the University of Plymouth.
I am the topic expert for the NICE guideline committee on maternal and child nutrition and committee member of the British Dietetic Association maternal and fertility nutrition group.
My research primarily focuses on nutrition during preconception and pregnancy in women with medical conditions.
I set up and lead the NOURISH study, which investigates nutritional intake and wellbeing in Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG). I have worked with the UK Pregnancy Sickness Support charity and I am part of an international working group to establish nutritional guidelines for HG.
Hazel Billson
Session Three - Complications of Pregnancy in Practice: HG and Low BMI
Hazel has more than 15 years experience working as dietitian in the NHS in a variety of roles, mainly in the acute sector. Three years ago Hazel was delighted to be offered a role working at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, one of the largest specialist maternity hospitals in Europe. Her role includes the nutrition support of women with hyperemesis, dietary advice for women with diabetes in pregnancy, and nutrition support referrals from midwives and obstetricians.
Hazel has a research interest in the nutritional requirements of women with a multiple pregnancy and hopes to start a study in this population group later this year.
Beth Greenslade
Session Four - The Nutritional Considerations of Navigating Pregnancy After Bariatric Surgery
Beth Greenslade BSc (Hons) PG Dip RD, Lead Bariatric Dietitian, Verve Health Group
Beth began her dietetic career in 2005 and has gathered a wide range of clinical experience. From 2012-2023 she was the Lead Bariatric Dietitian at Musgrove Park Hospital in Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. This is a Tier 4, Bariatric Surgery International Centre of Excellence, and a leading centre in the Southwest of England, regularly involved in research studies. Here Beth’s role included working closely with Consultant Endocrinologists to provide a specialist antenatal service for women after bariatric surgery and a specialist service for people experiencing post-surgical hypoglycaemia. Since September 2022 Beth has worked as a Bariatric Dietitian with Verve Health Group and began her role as Lead Bariatric Dietitian in July 2023.
In 2021 Beth completed the International Olympic Committee Diploma in Sports Nutrition and has enjoyed combining this knowledge with post-surgery nutritional guidance to help support those who are building their exercise and have had bariatric surgery.
Laura Logan
Session Four - Maternal Weight Management: A redesign in the NHS
Advanced Specialist Dietitian - Fertility and Maternal Weight Management, Fife Adult Weight Management Service, Nutrition and Dietetic Department, NHS Fife
Laura graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Dietetics from Queen Margaret University College in 2002 and has been working in the NHS for almost 20 years. Laura has worked in many different clinical specialities within the adult setting but spent the majority of her career in Paediatrics in NHS Fife. In 2019, she took on a new role to redesign the fertility and maternal weight management service. Laura has really enjoyed developing the service and working with a new team of obstetricians and midwives. Laura is also a founding committee member of the BDA Maternal and Fertility Nutrition specialist group.
Catherine Gallagher
Session Five - Optimising Diabetes Management in Pregnancy: Gestational diabetes
Catherine is the dietetic manager at Liverpool Women’s Hospital (LWH), one of the leading UK maternity hospitals and the largest maternity hospital in Europe. She works clinically two days per week with women with metabolic diseases of pregnancy including diabetes. She is an advanced diabetes dietitian, with over nine years NHS experience working in preconception and diabetes in pregnancy clinics. She is passionate about the prevention and management of Gestational diabetes and loves working collaboratively with colleagues to support women with GDM during their pregnancy. She has an MSc in Public Health Nutrition and recently completed an NIHR research internship with a focus on gestational diabetes prevention.
Dr Abigail Easter
Session Six - Eating Disorders in Pregnancy: A Psychologist’s Perspective
Dr Easter is a Reader in Perinatal Mental Health in the Department of Women and Children’s Health, School of Life Course Sciences, at King’s College London. She is an active member of two research groups, the Maternal Health Policy, Systems and Implementation research group in the Department of Women and Children’s Health, and the Section of Women’s Mental Health at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.
Her research focuses on maternal morbidity and mortality among women with mental illness and bridging the gap between maternity and mental healthcare services. Her current research programme is aimed at exploring ways to improve the health and social care, and maternal and child outcomes, for women who are experiencing perinatal mental illness. In particular, she is interested in the interface between physical and mental health and healthcare services during pregnancy and in the postnatal period.
Dr Easter completed a PhD in Maternal Eating Disorders and a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Implementation Science. She is Deputy Lead for the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South London Maternity and Perinatal Mental Health Theme. Prior to this she undertook a PhD in the Department of Psychological Medicine, at King’s College London, aimed at exploring the impact of maternal eating disorders on pregnancy, birth, and child health.
Sarah Elder
Session Six - Eating Disorders in Pregnancy: A Dietitian’s Perspective
Sarah Elder is a Registered Dietitian with the HCPC. She has a degree in Food Studies and Nutrition from Leeds University. She followed her interest of human nutrition and completed a post graduate Degree at Leeds Beckett University in Nutrition and Dietetics and a Master’s degree in Nutrition. Most recently she has completed a Masters in Advance Clinical Practice at York University, focussing on eating disorders and physical health and as part of this training and is a supplementary non-medical prescriber. âÂÂ
Sarah specialises in eating disorders and disordered eating and has contributed to national training and guidance in this area. This includes speaking at Beat’s Front Line Conferences, The International Eating Disorders Conference and National Adult Eating Disorders training. She has a specialist interest in eating disorders and maternal health as well as disorders of gut-brain interaction. Sarah is trained in the Nice approved therapies; MANTRA, SSCM and guided self-help.
Sarah has guest lectured at Teesside University and provided training and skills sessions for carers as part of her role at BEAT, the UK’s eating disorders charity as a Clinical Associate Trainer. As well as this she has been part of the development and facilitation of courses on Nutrition and Mental Health and Eating Disorders for the British Dietetic Association and provides educational sessions via Sarah Elder Nutrition for health professionals to upskill them in the areas of eating disorders and nutrition.
Aisling Pigott (RD, BSc. Human Nutrition and Dietetics, PgCert Sports Nutrition, MSc Advanced Dietetic Practice, PhD Candidate)
Session Seven - Empowering Pregnancy & Beyond: The Role of Physical Activity and Exercise in Maternal Health
Registered Dietitian at Dietitian Wales
Aisling is a Registered Dietitian working in NHS, academic and freelance settings. Aisling’s interests include: supporting healthy relationships with food, diabetes, women’s health and sports nutrition. As an endurance runner and Mum of two young children, Aisling has both a personal and professional interest in supporting all athletes achieve their sports nutrition goals.
Maja Berry
Session Seven: Empowering Pregnancy & Beyond: Nutritional Management of the Pregnant Female Athlete: From Preconception to Postpartum
Maja Berry, RD, BSc MSc
Specialist Eating Disorder & Sports Dietitian
In addition to her dietetic qualifications, Maja holds a master’s degree in Sports Nutrition and serves as a sports nutritionist for ENBS, Rambert and the London Vocational School of Dance, complementing her work in private practice. Her primary focus is energy deficiency in sports, such as Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (REDS) or Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA). She sees adults and adolescents who potentially struggle with balancing energy intake with energy expenditure.
Dr Julie Lanigan
Session Eight - Postpartum Nutritional Considerations
Dr Julie Lanigan RD PhD FBDA, Clinical Academic Paediatric Dietitian
Associate Professor (Hon), UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
Programme lead for the APP Masters in Paediatric Dietetics- University of Plymouth
Julie Lanigan, is a paediatric dietitian specialising in infant and young child nutrition with a focus on paediatric weight management. She is a clinical academic researcher with more than 25 years’ experience investigating the effects of early nutrition on long-term health in children.
Julie is a founding director of TrimTots Community Interest Company set up with UCL Business to develop evidence-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity.
Current projects include multi-centre infant feeding trials and studies involving cultural adaptations and evaluations of the Planet Munch Healthy Lifestyle Programme – an intervention for prevention of obesity in preschool children.
Julie has published widely. She is a regular invited speaker at national and international conferences and lectures in childhood nutrition at UCL and the University of Plymouth.
Prof Amy Brown
Session Eight - The impact of maternal body image during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period upon wellbeing and infant care
Session Eight - Breastfeeding in Pregnancy: A Psychologist’s Perspective
Professor Amy Brown is based in the School of Health and Social Care at Swansea University where she directs the research centre ‘LIFT’ which stands for Lactation, Infant Feeding and Translational Research. With a background in psychology, she first became interested in the increasingly global issue of low breastfeeding rates when breastfeeding her first baby. Three babies and a PhD later, she has spent the last eighteen years exploring psychological, cultural and societal barriers to breastfeeding, alongside experiences of perinatal mental health and caring for babies. Amy has published over 100 research papers and is the author of 12 books - all about infant feeding and supporting parents through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. Her primary goal is working to shift our perception of breastfeeding and infant care from an individual mothering issue, to a wider public health responsibility.
Sarah Ashley-Maguire (RD, BSc. Hons Nutrition/Dietetics, MSc. Advanced Practice)
Session Nine - Crafting Excellence: Creating a Pregnancy Management Plan
Sarah is a freelance dietitian with an 18 year dietetic career spanning the NHS, pharmaceutical and private healthcare sectors.
Her interest in maternal nutrition was sparked when she supported a pregnant woman with hyperemesis gravidarum. Sarah made daily visits to the maternity ward to administer naso-jejunal feeding, to support the pregnancy to term successfully. Sarah has first-hand clinical nutrition support knowledge and experience of supporting women through all stages of pregnancy and the post-natal period.
Sarah has broad and in-depth clinical experience of hyperemesis gravidarum, nutrition support and weight management and bariatric surgery (from King's College Hospital), and has delivered training sessions to midwives on healthy eating and supporting healthier food choices.
During Sarah's role as Nutrition and Dietetic service lead, she was heavily involved in assessing the dietetic input into maternity services, and looking for new ways of working in this under-funded area of dietetics. She supported her staff to complete a maternity project, working with the midwives. A Christmas special Facebook live event was used to showcase how pregnant women could eat safely and healthily of the Christmas season.
Working closely with acute and community midwives, questionnaires reached service users. Their voices helped re-design services and improve accessibility. Looking at how and when nutritional information is best received is key to real engagement. Accessing dietetic services is problematic, and optimisation of online resources and sign-posting has helped.
Sarah has a professional interest in gestational diabetes and pre, ante and post-natal nutrition for exercise, due to her own experiences during pregnancy and post-partum. She also sits on the Maternal and Fertility Nutrition Specialist Group committee in the role of Social Media Co-ordinator.