Susan Jane Bewley (born July 1958) is a British

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

, and Emeritus Professor of Obstetric and Women's Health at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. Born in Ireland and qualified from London, she specialised in complicated births and severe

maternal morbidity Maternal health is the health of people during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. In most cases, maternal health encompasses the health care dimensions of family planning, preconception, prenatal, and postnatal care in order to en ...

. Her main research areas have been on severe maternal diseases and violence in pregnancy, with other work in

fertility Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate ...

and intrapartum guidance with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). In addition, she has been involved with several charities.

Early life and education

Bewley was born in 1958 in Dublin, Ireland. Her father Thomas Bewley, was a psychiatrist. Her mother,

Beulah Bewley Dame Beulah Rosemary Bewley ( Knox; 2 September 1929 – 20 January 2018) was a British public health physician and past president of the Medical Women's Federation on the General Medical Council. Early life and education Bewley was born ...

, daughter of banker John Knox and the affluent heiress Ina Charles, became a

dame ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also u ...

for her work on women in medicine. Bewley is the eldest and only doctor of five siblings, having three sisters and one brother. Bewley shocked her mother when she came out to her and moved in with her girlfriend. As a child, Bewley regularly visited her relatives in then troubled Northern Ireland. Her recollections include a story about how her cousins taught her to sound less English whilst in Ireland. Bewley earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 1979, and qualified as doctor at

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

in 1982. She self financed a master's degree in medical law and ethics, where she also became interested in domestic violence.

Medical career

Inspired by her parents and the late obstetrician and gynaecologist Professor Geoffrey Chamberlain, Bewley specialised in complicated births and severe maternal morbidity. Her principal research centres on severe maternal diseases and violence in pregnancy. She was the first woman accomplished in Maternal-Fetal Medicine in the UK and has edited numerous books. She has played a key role in the National Institute for Clinical Excellence Fertility Guideline Development Group and the Intrapartum Guideline Development Group. She has criticized

homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that ...

and highlighted distortions in previous breast cancer screening leaflets. By sending an open letter to the ''

BMJ ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world' ...

'', Bewley caused a national review into

breast cancer screening Breast cancer screening is the medical screening of asymptomatic, apparently healthy women for breast cancer in an attempt to achieve an earlier diagnosis. The assumption is that early detection will improve outcomes. A number of screening tests ...

. This is because in her letter she argued that the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

leaflets that women received were not transparent about the risks associated with breast cancer screening. In addition, Bewley works and volunteers for various charities including HealthWatch (for treatments that work), Sophia Forum (the UK branch of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS), and Maternity Action (which works to end inequality and promote the health and wellbeing of pregnant women). In 2005, Bewley and fertility expert Melanie Davies published "Which Career First? The most secure age for childbearing remains 20-35" in the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

''. Debating the reasons for having children at an older age, in what way this worsens outcomes and how assisted conception has contributed, it triggered a discussion on childbearing in older women.

Other activities

It was at the request of her ill mother, Dame Beulah Bewley, that Bewley helped her complete and edit ''My Life As A Woman and Doctor'', memoirs of Beulah Bewley.

Selected works

* Bewley, Susan, and Jan Welch. ''ABC of Domestic and Sexual Violence''. Wiley; 2014. . * Subotsky, F., Bewley, S., & Crowe, M. (Eds.). (2010). ''Abuse of the Doctor-Patient Relationship''. Cambridge: Royal College of Psychiatrists. (ebook).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bewley, Susan Living people

Susan Susan is a feminine given name, the usual English version of Susanna or Susannah. All are versions of the Hebrew name Shoshana, which is derived from the Hebrew ''shoshan'', meaning ''lotus flower'' in Egyptian, original derivation, and severa ...

British obstetricians Alumni of the University of Oxford Academics of King's College London 1958 births Medical doctors from Dublin (city) Irish women health professionals