'Visionary leader' Dr. Helen Jingou Zhai builds cultural bridges for quality maternal and newborn care.

The September issue of All4Maternity, celebrates Dr. Helen Jinguo Zhai, a member of QMNC's steering committee and lead of the QMNC China group. The artilce describes Helen as, "a visionary midwifery leader" from China whose global impact is reshaping midwifery education, research, and practice. Featured on the cover surrounded by the elements most meaningful to her life and work, Dr. Zhai, who is Head of Midwifery at Southern Medical University in Guangzhou and China’s first PhD in midwifery, has devoted her career to advancing woman-centred, evidence-based care

Her 2025 postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Dundee focused on adapting the Quality Maternal and Newborn Care Framework Index (QMNCFi) for China, under the guidance of Professors Alison McFadden and Andrew Symon. In her article “Building a Cultural Bridge in Midwifery,” Dr. Zhai reflects on this transformative exchange, which strengthens collaboration between global and local midwifery research. Her leadership and vision exemplify the spirit of cross-cultural partnership that drives the future of quality maternal and newborn care worldwide, and the potential of QMNC to connect researchers and practitioners in building that shared future. See more photos at All4Maternity's LinkedIn