The judges of the inaugural Heather Trickey Essay Prize are
delighted to announce that they have chosen a winning essay: Natalie Davies’ Integrating alcohol harm reduction with family planning: a woman-centred alternative to the ‘abstinence-only’ approach for women trying to conceive.
We received more than 50 entries for this year’s prize and were hugely impressed by the breadth and passion of the entries we received.
The prize sought to build on the work of Dr Trickey, who died in July 2021 and who was involved in designing the award, by encouraging work that aimed to find common ground and practical responses in sometimes difficult areas of women’s reproductive health and rights.
We chose Natalie’s essay, which explored the problems of public health advice around alcohol for women trying to conceive and proposed a potential solution for risk-reduction, as we felt it absolutely articulated these key themes. Women seeking to conceive are a group who are increasingly expected to behave as if pregnant, and yet the burden – particularly for those who may take longer than anticipated to become pregnant – is rarely recognised. We felt this was an area in need of further investigation, particularly as the idea of pre-conception care becomes more embedded, and will seek to support Natalie to take her ideas forward.
Alongside Natalie’s essay, we are also publishing six highly commended submissions which spoke to the criteria of a contested or underexplored area, sought to surface and explain women’s voices and experiences, and suggested fresh approaches. Areas covered included contraception, miscarriage, endometriosis and infant feeding – we know Heather would have been thrilled at the spread of reproductive issues represented, and the authors’ demonstrable commitment to improving experiences and outcomes for women.
We are hugely grateful to everyone who took part and look forward to opening the award again later this year.
Clare Murphy, Julia Sanders, Simon Brindle and Jessica Figueras
Laura Ruane, Claudia and Me: an endo story
Jessica Cohen-Murray, Why the UK needs a new National Milk
Dr Andrea Ford, Endometriosis, period health, and valuing women’s experience
Bakita Kasadha, Dr Shema Tariq, Dr Farai Nyatsanza, Dr Nell Freeman-Romilly, Angelina Namiba and Tanvi Rai PhD, Who knows ‘best’ when it comes to breast?
Aimee Middlemiss and Susie Kilshaw, Sharing the burden of miscarriage knowledge
Find out more about the prize at: www.heathertrickeyprize.org
BPAS has endowed the Peter Huntingford Memorial Prize to mark the late Professor Peter Huntingford’s contribution to obstetrics and gynaecology. This has enabled the RCOG to provide two prizes of £150 (first prize) and £75 (second prize).
Eligibility and requirements
This award is for FY1 or FY2 doctors across the UK and Republic of Ireland and will be awarded to the two best presentations of a case history, focused on either:
In any aspect of sexual health and fertility control in which they have been directly involved.
A submission of no more than 1,500 words outlining the research with reference to publications (if any) is required. Applications that are over the word limit will be marked down. Please include a statement of your contribution to the project and indicate the name and address of your supervisor.
Your application will be judged on the following criteria:
Applications
Please ensure you read the guidance on submitting your application before entering any of the awards. To apply, please send your application to the Awards Administrator (awards@rcog.org.uk) by midnight on Thursday 13 May 2021.
Collaborate with us
If you are a student or a researcher with a project you would like to undertake and looking for a host organisation, do get in touch.
We have previously accepted students and fellows from Imperial College London, Kent University, Sussex University, Princeton University, Harvard Law School and Yale Law School.
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