The judges of the inaugural Dr Heather Trickey Prize are delighted to announce they have chosen Natalie Davies’ essay, “Integrating alcohol harm reduction with family planning”, which explores the problems of public health advice around alcohol for women trying to conceive and proposes a potential solution for risk-reduction, as this year’s winner.
The prize sought to build on the work of Dr Trickey, who died in 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. It is jointly funded by BPAS and the NCT, two organisations with whom Dr Trickey worked and which benefited from her insights.
Over 50 entries were received, and alongside the winning essay, the charities 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.
Clare Murphy, BPAS Chief Executive said:
“We received more than 50 entries for this year’s prize and were hugely impressed by the breadth and passion of all of the essays. Dr Trickey would have been thrilled at the spread of reproductive issues represented, and the authors’ demonstrable commitment to improving experiences and outcomes for women.
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. Natalie Davies’ essay was chosen as this year’s winning entry because we felt this was an area in need of further investigation, particularly as the idea of pre-conception care becomes more embedded, and we will seek to support Natalie to take her ideas forward.”
“We are hugely grateful to everyone who took part and look forward to opening the award again later this year.”
The award-winning essay, and an additional six highly commended entries, are published on the Dr Heather Trickey awards website here.
Ends
Notes to Editors
The Dr Heather Trickey Award judges were Clare Murphy, BPAS Chief Executive, Prof Julia Sanders, University of Cardiff, Simon Brindle, husband of Dr Heather Trickey, and Jessica Figueras, Chair of Trustees (outgoing), NCT.
The winner of the Dr Heather Trickey prize
Highly commended
Sharing the burden of miscarriage knowledge – Aimee Middlemiss and Susie Kilshaw
Claudia and Me: an endo story – Laura Ruane
Endometriosis, period health, and valuing women’s experience – Dr Andrea Ford
