Sara Zarasvand University of West London, UK

Sara Zarasvand is a midwifery lecturer and course lead at the University of West London, with over ten years of experience as a midwife. She has a longstanding interest in research, learning, and teaching, which has shaped her career across both clinical and academic settings. Alongside her clinical work, she completed a master’s degree from University College London and began her research career at Imperial College London, focusing on preterm birth (now Tommy’s National Centre for Preterm Birth Research). Since then, she has contributed to a range of published studies, including first-author papers, and has co-authored core midwifery texts.

Drawing on her combined clinical, research, and academic experience, Sara is particularly passionate about supporting students and practitioners to feel confident and comfortable engaging with research and evidence-based practice. Since joining UWL, she has further developed her academic practice through postgraduate study in Professional Academic Practice and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). This textbook reflects her commitment to making research accessible, relevant, and meaningful for all those working in midwifery.