Research group Midwifery & Childbirth

In 2011, the research programme of this Information and Research Centre was embedded into an Academic Collaborative Centre – to which she is now connected as an applied research professor. Torij's research group was founded by Research Centre Innovations of Care and the Midwifery Academy Rotterdam. One of her tasks is to generate further research within the Academic Collaborative Centre and to continue regional collaboration in midwifery and childbirth research. 

Hanneke Torij's two primary goals are to establish a knowledge infrastructure for birth care in the Southwest region of the Netherlands and to further develop a research program that contributes to improving birth care. The main topics are improving integrated care – specifically addressing urban healthcare and vulnerable pregnant women –and the further development of expertise of professions within birth care. In the Southwest region of the Netherlands she established a regional consortium for pregnancy and childbirth, funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), in which approximately 36 organisations from education, research, practice and policy perspectives joined forces. This collaborative effort should lead to better care for vulnerable pregnant women, and further development of the expertise of professions within birth care. 

Compared to other parts of the Netherlands, perinatal morbidity and mortality are more prevalent in Rotterdam. For this reason, research that generates knowledge about these topics is very important.

Collaboration

Midwifery Academy Rotterdam, EMI (Centre of Expertise Social Innovation), Erasmus University Medical Centre, and all organizations involved in Regional Consortium Pregnancy & Childbirth Southwest Netherlands.