Netmums' trusted experts
Juliet Blank
Associate EditorTo make sure our content is up-to-date and accurate, we work with a wide network of experts and expert-led organisations who provide info, quotes, facts and figures so you can be sure what you read on Netmums can be trusted. Meet our experts here.
Our 'official' experts
We're lucky enough to have three fantastic experts in their field on board with Netmums, each regularly adding their voice, knowledge and experience to our content.
Here's who we've got on board as our official experts:
Dr Kenny Livingstone
Dr Kenny is an NHS GP at Royal Free Hospital Urgent Care Centre, and Chief Medical Officer and Founder of ZoomDoc – Your Doctor On Call, a private on-demand GP service. Kenny joins us as Netmums' official GP and you'll see his comments pop up on lots of our health content across the site.
Find out more about Dr Kenny here.
Sarah Joy Owen
Sarah is a midwife at University Hospital Lewisham in south east London. She's been a midwife for three years, having re-trained in her mid-40s after having three children of her own.
Find out more about Sarah here.
Linda Blair
Linda is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist, Chartered Scientist, and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. She joins Netmums as our official psychologist, providing expert advice and professional support to content across the board.
Find out more about Linda here.
Our A-Z of trusted experts
Whether it's pregnancy or potty-training-related, here's an A-Z of the many other experts who help inform Netmums' content, in addition to our official experts above.
A
Adoption
Alice Noon, Service Manager for Adoption at children's charity Coram, who're committed to improving the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children and young people.
Allergies
Holly Shaw, Nurse Advisor, Allergy UK, the leading national charity providing support, advice and information for those living with allergic disease.
Asthma
Sonia Munde, Head of Helpline and Nurse Manager, Asthma UK, the UK's leading asthma research charity, working to stop asthma attacks and, ultimately, cure asthma.
Debby Waddell, Nurse Specialist, Asthma UK, the UK asthma charity that funds world-class research, provides expert advice and support, and campaigns for change on the issues that affect people with asthma.
Autism
Carol Povey, Director of the Centre for Autism at the National Autistic Society.
B
Baby Loss
Steph Wild is a practising midwife and a bereaved parent. She is the founder of the baby loss charity Beyond Bea.
Bullying
Alex Holmes, Deputy CEO of The Diana Award, an independent charity known for its successful Anti-Bullying Programme.
Lauren Seager-Smith, CEO of anti-bullying charity Kidscape.
C
Child health
Helen Bedford, Professor of Children’s Health at University College London (UCL) and spokesperson for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Linda Blair, Chartered Clinical Psychologist, Chartered Scientist, and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society.
Dr Rahul Chodhari, Consultant Paediatrician at Royal Free London with an interest in respiratory diseases (asthma, recurrent chest infections) and food allergy.
Dr Elizabeth Kilbey, Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and expert in child development who's also appeared in Channel 4's The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds.
Vicki Kirwin, audiology specialist at the National Deaf Children’s Society.
Russell Viner, paediatrician, Professor of Adolescent Health at the UCL Institute of Child Health in London and spokesperson for the RCPCH (The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health).
Dr Ian Maconochie, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, transforming child health through knowledge, innovation and expertise.
Dr Ranj Singh, This Morning and CBeebies paediatrician.
D
Diet
Jenny Barber, Slimming World nutritionist.
Linia Patel, a dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association (BDA), the professional association and trade union for UK dietitians.
Clare Thornton-Wood, Specialist Paediatric Dietician at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust.
Carolyn Pallister, a Public Health Manager and Dietician at Slimming World.
Jacquie Lavin, the Head of Nutrition and Research at Slimming World.
Jenny Caven, the Director of External Affairs at Slimming World.
Sarah Vince-Cain, Clinical Programme Manager, Childhood Obesity at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
Sarah Schenker, registered dietitian and member of the British Dietetic Association (BDA), The Nutrition Society, The Association for Nutrition and The Guild of Health Writers.
Michelle McGuinness, Registered Dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association (BDA), the professional association and trade union for UK dietitians.
Divorce
Jane Robey, chief executive officer at National Family Mediation.
E
Education
Gill Hines, education and parenting consultant, co-author of The Home Education Handbook
Rosalind Millam, from The Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY).
Emily Reynolds, Media and Communication Office, Ofsted, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills, which inspect services providing education and skills for learners of all ages.
Environment
Anna Musgrave, from Friends of the Earth
F
Family planning
Natika H Halil, Chief Executive of FPA (Family Planning Association), the sexual health charity.
Fertility
Professor Adam Balen, fertility expert and full time Consultant in Reproductive Medicine at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Dr Helen Ford, Head of Nutrition at Glenville Nutrition Clinics, founded by Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD, a leading UK nutritionist for fertility and women’s health issues.
Professor Geeta Nargund, Medical Director of CREATE Fertility, pioneers of natural and mild IVF.
First aid
Isobel Kearl, National Training Officer, St John Ambulance, the nation's leading first aid charity, teaching everyone simple, life-saving skills.
Fostering
John Simmonds from adoption and fostering academy CoramBAAF, a successor organisation to the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF).
G
Group B strep
Jane Plumb, MBE and CEO and founder of Group B Strep Support (GBSS), the UK's leading charity working to stop GBS infection in babies.
H
Health (general)
Shirin Alwash, pharmacy manager and ambassador for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society,
Dr Dawn Harper, a media medic best known for her appearances on Embarrassing Bodies, Dawn also works as an NHS doctor in Gloucestershire.
NHS Choices, the homepage of the NHS, offering health and care information you can trust.
Sharon White OBE, Independent Public Health Nurse Consultant.
Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG)
Caitlin Dean, chair of Pregnancy Sickness Support, a registered UK charity working to improve care, treatment and support for women suffering from nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) and HG.
M
Mental health
Richard Colwill, spokesperson for the mental health charity SANE.
P
PCOS
Professor Stephen Franks, Medical Advisor for Verity, the National Charity for PCOS, a self-help group for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Potty training
Sharron Gibson, Helpline Coordinator for ERIC, the only charity dedicated to the bowel and bladder health of all children and teenagers in the UK.
Alina Lynden, Helpline Advisor for ERIC, the only charity dedicated to the bowel and bladder health of all children and teenagers in the UK.
Pregnancy
Carmel Bagness, Professional Lead Midwifery and Women’s Health at the Royal College of Nursing.
Jenny Chambers, CEO of UK charity ICP Support
Leah Hazard, NHS midwife and author.
Michelle Lyne, Professional Advisor for Education at the Royal College of Midwives, the voice of midwifery.
Birte Harlev-lam, Director for Professional Leadership at Royal College of Midwives, the voice of midwifery.
Professor Catherine Williamson, Department of Women & Children’s Health at King’s College London
Psychology
Dr Claire Halsey, child psychologist and parenting expert.
Dr Janine Spencer, developmental psychologist and university lecturer at London’s Brunel University.
R
Reading
Jean Gross CBE, education and reading expert.
Judith Wilson, Publisher for Oxford Reading Tree, part of Oxford University Press (OUP).
S
Skin
Nina Goad, spokesperson for the British Association of Dermatologists, a charity whose charitable objects are the practice, teaching, training and research of Dermatology.
Sleep
Vicki Dawson, CEO The Children's Sleep Charity, a national, award-winning charity supporting children with sleep issues.
Andrea Grace, a children's sleep specialist as well as being a qualified and registered health visitor, nurse and mental health nurse.
Speech Therapy
Sinead Campbell is an independent speech and language therapist who has previously worked in the NHS. She supports children aged 18 months to 18 years who have a range of speech, language and communication needs.
T
Terminations
Patricia Lohr, Medical Director for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (bpas), an independent healthcare charity offering help and support for women and couples who decide to end a pregnancy.
U
Urology
Mr Ased Ali, Consultant Urological Surgeon and spokesperson for Bladder Health UK, who give support to people with all forms of cystitis, overactive bladder and continence issues together with their families and friends.
W
Wellbeing
Linda Blair is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist, Chartered Scientist, and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society.
Jodie Smart is a Mindful Emotion Coach and Founder of Sunny Kids Shine. Jodie supports children and their families to help kids to grow up as secure, resilient and content young people.
Work
Tom Neil, Senior Adviser for workplace expert Acas
