Board of Directors The International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization Board of Directors
Debra Pascali-Bonaro, IMBCO Chair, is an internationally renowned childbirth expert, a 26-year speaker in childbirth education, a Lamaze-certified veteran in maternity care, and a DONA-approved doula trainer. A graduate of McGill University, Debra travels the world working to ensure that women and their partners understand their rights related to the circumstances of giving birth. In the U.S. she teaches nursing, midwifery and medical students at University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and New York University, has spoken about doula care at the White House, and has been instrumental in the development of several hospitals and community-based doula programs. Abroad she provides consultation to H.O.M.E., a project of the European Community, and works in Brazil to implement doula programs; she also provides in-services to nurses, midwives, residents and Grand Rounds to physicians at hospitals and universities internationally, and teaches doula trainings in many countries.
Debra served on the first Board of Directors of DONA International and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Childbirth Connection. She co-authored Nurturing Beginnings: Mother Love’s Guide to Postpartum Home Care for Doulas and Outreach Workers and received the Lamaze International Elizabeth Bing Award in 2002. For her first documentary film, Orgasmic Birth, Debra videotaped births in New Zealand, Mexico, the U.K., South America, and the U.S. to help educate and inspire people to consider their options and the implications of the circumstances of birth for women's and babies' health and well being. This documentary is being shown around the world to great acclaim.
Alejandra Cardenas Ceron is a Colombian lawyer with over 20 years of experience in international law, human rights, gender, and reproductive rights. Alejandra led the Department of Legal Strategies, Innovation, and Research at the Center for Reproductive Rights. She served as Regional Director for Latin America and East Africa at Women’s Link Worldwide, an intersectional feminist, anti-racist, anti-ableist, and anti-colonial human rights organization.
Before her leadership position at Women’s Link, Alejandra was a Human Rights Expert with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the primary and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) responsible for promoting and protecting human rights throughout the American continent. Alejandra oversaw the portfolio of cases against the States of Peru and Bolivia. Alejandra has worked for the International Center forTransitional Justice, Fundaminga, and ILSA.
She received a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the Universidad Externado de Colombia and holds a master’s degree in international public law from Harvard University, where she was the recipient of the Irving F. Kaufman Fellowship.
Alejandra has published numerous articles on different human rights issues for both academic and popular publications. She is frequently invited to serve as a guest lecturer at universities around the world.
Robbie Davis-Floyd PhD, Editor for the IMBCI, is a Senior Research Fellow in the Dept. of Anthropology, University of Texas Austin and a Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology. She is a medical anthropologist specializing in the anthropology of reproduction. An international speaker and researcher, she is author of over 80 articles and of Birth as an American Rite of Passage (1992, 2004); coauthor of From Doctor to Healer: The Transformative Journey (1998); and coeditor of eight collections, including Childbirth and Authoritative Knowledge: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (1997); Cyborg Babies: From Techno-Sex to Techno-Tots (1998); and Mainstreaming Midwives: The Politics of Change (2006). Birth Models That Work, an edited collection that highlights excellent models of birth care around the world, is in press. Her research on global trends and transformations in childbirth, obstetrics, and midwifery is ongoing. Robbie speaks regularly at universities and at national and international childbirth, obstetrical, and midwifery conferences around the world. She has been involved with the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) since its founding at Mt. Madonna in 1995, serving on its Leadership Council and as Chair of the CIMS Editorial Committee for the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI). She currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Council on Anthropology and Reproduction.
Soo Downe, BA(Hons), RM, MSc, PhD, OBE, University of Central Lancashire, UK
Soo is a member of IMBCO, and of the ICI Board. She spent 15 years working as a clinical and research midwife. In 2001 she joined UCLan where she is now the Professor of Midwifery Studies. Her main research focus is the nature of, and cultures around, normal birth. She has been a member of the Technical Working Group of the World Health Organization antenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, and optimising caesarean section guidelines. She has published over 160 peer reviewed papers, and has undertaken research using a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods. She is a member of the NHS England Better Births national Stakeholder group. She was the founder of the International Normal Birth Research Conference Series.
Dr. Vijaya Krishnan is the founder of The Sanctum Natural Birth Center, in Hyderabad, India. She is a Certified Professional Midwife, Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, an Advanced Certified Lactation Professional, & also has Doctorate in Physical Therapy.
In 2008, she pioneered a unique Collaborative Model of Care – Women receive Autonomous Midwife Led Care, through the childbearing year from preconception to postpartum, with Consultant OBGyns, Pediatricians, and emergency infrastructure on site, in case of emergency & complex needs. This has become a model of care which can be replicated throughout the world, where women can have both safe and satisfying birth outcomes, and The Sanctum is a designated ICI implementing facility.
In addition to this, she is the Program Director of the Healthy Mother Lamaze Accredited Childbirth Educator Program since 2009. 95% of India's Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educators today, have been mentored by her program.
Dr. Vijaya's articles have been published in International Journals, & recently, she has also co-authored a chapter on Breech Birth in the book “Sustainable Birth in Disruptive Times”.
She is an invited speaker both nationally & internationally, and has led workshops at FIGO conferences. She has also been invited by the State Government of Telangana, to teach Respectful Maternity Care and evidence-based practices to doctors and other stakeholders, to improve maternal and newborn outcomes, and reduce use of unnecessary interventions.
Dr. Vijaya has been awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award for Service to MotherBaby” by Midwifery Today. She recently received her second Lifetime Achievement Award at the IBC Conference in July 2023.
Debrah Lewis RN, CNM, MSc has practiced, as a clinician and consultant, over the past 39 years in the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, and India. She has presented extensively regionally and internationally at workshops and conferences on midwifery and sexual reproductive health related topics.
She is a founder and current Executive Director of Mamatoto Resource & Birth Centre, the only freestanding, midwifery-led birth centre in the Caribbean, where she remains in active midwifery practice. She is a founder of, and remains active in, the Trinidad & Tobago Association of Midwives (1995), and the Caribbean Regional Midwives Association (2012).
Debrah is a UNFPA LACRO, and a Jhpiego International, Midwifery Consultant; a member of the World Health Organization Strategic and Advisory Technical Group of Experts (STAGE) Subgroup; the Steering Committee Re-establishing Confederation of African Midwives’ Associations; and has served as Vice President and a Board Member of the International Confederation of Midwives for 9 years and on their Scientific Program Planning Committee.
Her recent recognition includes receiving a National Award for The Development of Women – Gold – for her work in Community Service and Midwifery in Trinidad & Tobago; and selection by Women in Global Health in 2020 as one of the 100 Outstanding Nurse and Midwife Global Leaders.
Debrah's most recent publications are: 2025 Elsevier SSM – Health Sciences Volume 5 Experiences of maternity care (MC): Perspectives among women, partners and service providers in Trinidad; 2022 UNFPA Good Practices in Midwifery – LACRO & Caribbean Region 2020-2021.
Amali Lokugamage MBChB, BSc, MSc (Epidemiology), MD, FRCOG is a Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist in London, UK. She has over 24 years of experience in the speciality. Her main clinical interests lie in medical gynaecology and general obstetrics with expertise in normalising birth. She has authored an acclaimed book called The Heart in the Womb: An Exploration of the Roots of Human Love and Social Cohesion which Ina May Gaskin has called “the childbirth without fear of the 21st century”. Dr Lokugamage is an internationally invited speaker at many multidisciplinary Birth conferences promoting respectful care, dignity and autonomy in maternity services. Her international positions of leadership are; being on the Board of Directors of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organisation (UN recognised NGO); on the Advisory Board of Human Rights in Childbirth (NGO); and on the Editorial Board for the International Journal of Childbirth. She is an Institute of Leadership and Management NHS Champion for healthcare human rights and is involved compassion and patient experience projects at her London hospital. She has several medical educational leadership roles at University College London Medical School in undergraduate women’s health, vertical modules and student support. Her international clinical work has been in cardiothoracic anaesthesia in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1991; research into the treatment of post partum haemorrhage at the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa 1997-2001; and Asian Tsunami charitable relief work in Sri Lanka and India 2005 & 2006.
Her undergraduate medical qualifications are from St Andrews and Manchester Universities. An MSc Epidemiology was obtained at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an MD was awarded from University College London. Clinical training was undertaken at London teaching hospitals. She was awarded a Fellow of the Royal College and Obstetricians (FRCOG) in 2008.
Her research & publications cover critical evaluation of evidence based medicine, human rights in childbirth, normalising birth, life course epidemiology, recurrent miscarriage, the use of Misoprostol for labour and delivery, and international women's health. She has a keen interest in Integrated Medicine and the psychobiological dimensions of diagnosis and treatment.
In London she leads an NHS maternity acupuncture service. She is a Trustee of the Birthlight Trust where she instigated a pregnancy yoga dance project. Dr Lokugamage also has expertise in the treatment of chronic illness integrating both standard and complementary medicine modalities in a patient centred approach.
Daphne Rattner, is an Associate Professor at the Graduate Program on Public Health at the School of Health Sciences of the University of Brasilia. Besides her PhD in epidemiology at the University of North Carolina, Daphne studied Public Health and Tropical Diseases at the University of Sao Paulo; Hospital and Health Services Administration at the Fundacao Getulio Vargas; Community-oriented Primary Health Care at Hebrew University, Israel; and Primary Health Care: Policy, Planning and Politics of Health in Development at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. Daphne organized the book Humanizando Nascimentos e Partos (2005), and in 2009 A medicina tradicional e os sistemas municipais de saúde: Humanização do parto sob o enfoque do Patrimônio Cultural / La medicina tradicional y los sistemas municipales de Salud: Humanización del parto sobre el enfoque del Patrimonio Cultural (Traditional medicine and local healthcare systems: Humanization of Childbirth under the perspective of Cultural Heritage). Also, she organized the publication "Childbirth care: an agenda for the 21st century", in partnersgip with the Brazilian Office of UNICEF. Before taking on the position at the University, Daphne worked for five years ()2004 - 2009) in the Women’s Health Program for the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Since 2012 she is the President of the The Brazilian Network for the Humanization of Childbirth (Rede pela Humanização do Parto e Nascimento - ReHuNa), that has partnered with many Brazilian and international organizations and has already organized five International Conferences for the Humanization of Childbirth. Since March 2025 she represents ReHuNa in the WHO Women’s Representative Panel to contribute to the development of upcoming guidelines/recommendations on surgical and medical interventions to optimize caesarean section outcomes. She is also a member of the Advisory Counselor of organizations such as Relacahupan - Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe por la Humanización del Parto y Nacimiento, Ibfan-Brasil and others.
Administrative Director, Rae Davies, BSH, CD(DONA), LCCE, IBCLC
Rae’s professional career began when the birth of her first baby was featured in the film Childbirth for the Joy of It in 1968. Guest appearances on talk shows with Maria Cole (wife of the late Nat King Cole), and Regis Philbin inspired her to continue to educate women and men about natural childbirth and husbands in the delivery room. Rae became the first certified Bradley Method childbirth educator, which led her to following her students through labor, birth and breastfeeding as a doula and lactation consultant. With solid roots in the grassroots childbirth movement, Rae became the first Executive Director for the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) where she represented CIMS nationally, internationally, and on the US Breastfeeding Committee. She continues to dedicate her time to providing training programs globally for doulas, childbirth educators, and midwives. Rae is also a past Health Care Practices Task Force co-coordinator for the World Alliance of Breastfeeding Action (WABA).
Debra served on the first Board of Directors of DONA International and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Childbirth Connection. She co-authored Nurturing Beginnings: Mother Love’s Guide to Postpartum Home Care for Doulas and Outreach Workers and received the Lamaze International Elizabeth Bing Award in 2002. For her first documentary film, Orgasmic Birth, Debra videotaped births in New Zealand, Mexico, the U.K., South America, and the U.S. to help educate and inspire people to consider their options and the implications of the circumstances of birth for women's and babies' health and well being. This documentary is being shown around the world to great acclaim.
Alejandra Cardenas Ceron is a Colombian lawyer with over 20 years of experience in international law, human rights, gender, and reproductive rights. Alejandra led the Department of Legal Strategies, Innovation, and Research at the Center for Reproductive Rights. She served as Regional Director for Latin America and East Africa at Women’s Link Worldwide, an intersectional feminist, anti-racist, anti-ableist, and anti-colonial human rights organization.
Before her leadership position at Women’s Link, Alejandra was a Human Rights Expert with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the primary and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) responsible for promoting and protecting human rights throughout the American continent. Alejandra oversaw the portfolio of cases against the States of Peru and Bolivia. Alejandra has worked for the International Center forTransitional Justice, Fundaminga, and ILSA.
She received a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the Universidad Externado de Colombia and holds a master’s degree in international public law from Harvard University, where she was the recipient of the Irving F. Kaufman Fellowship.
Alejandra has published numerous articles on different human rights issues for both academic and popular publications. She is frequently invited to serve as a guest lecturer at universities around the world.
Robbie Davis-Floyd PhD, Editor for the IMBCI, is a Senior Research Fellow in the Dept. of Anthropology, University of Texas Austin and a Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology. She is a medical anthropologist specializing in the anthropology of reproduction. An international speaker and researcher, she is author of over 80 articles and of Birth as an American Rite of Passage (1992, 2004); coauthor of From Doctor to Healer: The Transformative Journey (1998); and coeditor of eight collections, including Childbirth and Authoritative Knowledge: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (1997); Cyborg Babies: From Techno-Sex to Techno-Tots (1998); and Mainstreaming Midwives: The Politics of Change (2006). Birth Models That Work, an edited collection that highlights excellent models of birth care around the world, is in press. Her research on global trends and transformations in childbirth, obstetrics, and midwifery is ongoing. Robbie speaks regularly at universities and at national and international childbirth, obstetrical, and midwifery conferences around the world. She has been involved with the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) since its founding at Mt. Madonna in 1995, serving on its Leadership Council and as Chair of the CIMS Editorial Committee for the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI). She currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Council on Anthropology and Reproduction.
Soo Downe, BA(Hons), RM, MSc, PhD, OBE, University of Central Lancashire, UK
Soo is a member of IMBCO, and of the ICI Board. She spent 15 years working as a clinical and research midwife. In 2001 she joined UCLan where she is now the Professor of Midwifery Studies. Her main research focus is the nature of, and cultures around, normal birth. She has been a member of the Technical Working Group of the World Health Organization antenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, and optimising caesarean section guidelines. She has published over 160 peer reviewed papers, and has undertaken research using a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods. She is a member of the NHS England Better Births national Stakeholder group. She was the founder of the International Normal Birth Research Conference Series.
Dr. Vijaya Krishnan is the founder of The Sanctum Natural Birth Center, in Hyderabad, India. She is a Certified Professional Midwife, Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, an Advanced Certified Lactation Professional, & also has Doctorate in Physical Therapy.
In 2008, she pioneered a unique Collaborative Model of Care – Women receive Autonomous Midwife Led Care, through the childbearing year from preconception to postpartum, with Consultant OBGyns, Pediatricians, and emergency infrastructure on site, in case of emergency & complex needs. This has become a model of care which can be replicated throughout the world, where women can have both safe and satisfying birth outcomes, and The Sanctum is a designated ICI implementing facility.
In addition to this, she is the Program Director of the Healthy Mother Lamaze Accredited Childbirth Educator Program since 2009. 95% of India's Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educators today, have been mentored by her program.
Dr. Vijaya's articles have been published in International Journals, & recently, she has also co-authored a chapter on Breech Birth in the book “Sustainable Birth in Disruptive Times”.
She is an invited speaker both nationally & internationally, and has led workshops at FIGO conferences. She has also been invited by the State Government of Telangana, to teach Respectful Maternity Care and evidence-based practices to doctors and other stakeholders, to improve maternal and newborn outcomes, and reduce use of unnecessary interventions.
Dr. Vijaya has been awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award for Service to MotherBaby” by Midwifery Today. She recently received her second Lifetime Achievement Award at the IBC Conference in July 2023.
Debrah Lewis RN, CNM, MSc has practiced, as a clinician and consultant, over the past 39 years in the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, and India. She has presented extensively regionally and internationally at workshops and conferences on midwifery and sexual reproductive health related topics.
She is a founder and current Executive Director of Mamatoto Resource & Birth Centre, the only freestanding, midwifery-led birth centre in the Caribbean, where she remains in active midwifery practice. She is a founder of, and remains active in, the Trinidad & Tobago Association of Midwives (1995), and the Caribbean Regional Midwives Association (2012).
Debrah is a UNFPA LACRO, and a Jhpiego International, Midwifery Consultant; a member of the World Health Organization Strategic and Advisory Technical Group of Experts (STAGE) Subgroup; the Steering Committee Re-establishing Confederation of African Midwives’ Associations; and has served as Vice President and a Board Member of the International Confederation of Midwives for 9 years and on their Scientific Program Planning Committee.
Her recent recognition includes receiving a National Award for The Development of Women – Gold – for her work in Community Service and Midwifery in Trinidad & Tobago; and selection by Women in Global Health in 2020 as one of the 100 Outstanding Nurse and Midwife Global Leaders.
Debrah's most recent publications are: 2025 Elsevier SSM – Health Sciences Volume 5 Experiences of maternity care (MC): Perspectives among women, partners and service providers in Trinidad; 2022 UNFPA Good Practices in Midwifery – LACRO & Caribbean Region 2020-2021.
Amali Lokugamage MBChB, BSc, MSc (Epidemiology), MD, FRCOG is a Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist in London, UK. She has over 24 years of experience in the speciality. Her main clinical interests lie in medical gynaecology and general obstetrics with expertise in normalising birth. She has authored an acclaimed book called The Heart in the Womb: An Exploration of the Roots of Human Love and Social Cohesion which Ina May Gaskin has called “the childbirth without fear of the 21st century”. Dr Lokugamage is an internationally invited speaker at many multidisciplinary Birth conferences promoting respectful care, dignity and autonomy in maternity services. Her international positions of leadership are; being on the Board of Directors of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organisation (UN recognised NGO); on the Advisory Board of Human Rights in Childbirth (NGO); and on the Editorial Board for the International Journal of Childbirth. She is an Institute of Leadership and Management NHS Champion for healthcare human rights and is involved compassion and patient experience projects at her London hospital. She has several medical educational leadership roles at University College London Medical School in undergraduate women’s health, vertical modules and student support. Her international clinical work has been in cardiothoracic anaesthesia in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1991; research into the treatment of post partum haemorrhage at the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa 1997-2001; and Asian Tsunami charitable relief work in Sri Lanka and India 2005 & 2006.
Her undergraduate medical qualifications are from St Andrews and Manchester Universities. An MSc Epidemiology was obtained at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an MD was awarded from University College London. Clinical training was undertaken at London teaching hospitals. She was awarded a Fellow of the Royal College and Obstetricians (FRCOG) in 2008.
Her research & publications cover critical evaluation of evidence based medicine, human rights in childbirth, normalising birth, life course epidemiology, recurrent miscarriage, the use of Misoprostol for labour and delivery, and international women's health. She has a keen interest in Integrated Medicine and the psychobiological dimensions of diagnosis and treatment.
In London she leads an NHS maternity acupuncture service. She is a Trustee of the Birthlight Trust where she instigated a pregnancy yoga dance project. Dr Lokugamage also has expertise in the treatment of chronic illness integrating both standard and complementary medicine modalities in a patient centred approach.
Daphne Rattner, is an Associate Professor at the Graduate Program on Public Health at the School of Health Sciences of the University of Brasilia. Besides her PhD in epidemiology at the University of North Carolina, Daphne studied Public Health and Tropical Diseases at the University of Sao Paulo; Hospital and Health Services Administration at the Fundacao Getulio Vargas; Community-oriented Primary Health Care at Hebrew University, Israel; and Primary Health Care: Policy, Planning and Politics of Health in Development at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. Daphne organized the book Humanizando Nascimentos e Partos (2005), and in 2009 A medicina tradicional e os sistemas municipais de saúde: Humanização do parto sob o enfoque do Patrimônio Cultural / La medicina tradicional y los sistemas municipales de Salud: Humanización del parto sobre el enfoque del Patrimonio Cultural (Traditional medicine and local healthcare systems: Humanization of Childbirth under the perspective of Cultural Heritage). Also, she organized the publication "Childbirth care: an agenda for the 21st century", in partnersgip with the Brazilian Office of UNICEF. Before taking on the position at the University, Daphne worked for five years ()2004 - 2009) in the Women’s Health Program for the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Since 2012 she is the President of the The Brazilian Network for the Humanization of Childbirth (Rede pela Humanização do Parto e Nascimento - ReHuNa), that has partnered with many Brazilian and international organizations and has already organized five International Conferences for the Humanization of Childbirth. Since March 2025 she represents ReHuNa in the WHO Women’s Representative Panel to contribute to the development of upcoming guidelines/recommendations on surgical and medical interventions to optimize caesarean section outcomes. She is also a member of the Advisory Counselor of organizations such as Relacahupan - Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe por la Humanización del Parto y Nacimiento, Ibfan-Brasil and others.
Administrative Director, Rae Davies, BSH, CD(DONA), LCCE, IBCLC
Rae’s professional career began when the birth of her first baby was featured in the film Childbirth for the Joy of It in 1968. Guest appearances on talk shows with Maria Cole (wife of the late Nat King Cole), and Regis Philbin inspired her to continue to educate women and men about natural childbirth and husbands in the delivery room. Rae became the first certified Bradley Method childbirth educator, which led her to following her students through labor, birth and breastfeeding as a doula and lactation consultant. With solid roots in the grassroots childbirth movement, Rae became the first Executive Director for the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) where she represented CIMS nationally, internationally, and on the US Breastfeeding Committee. She continues to dedicate her time to providing training programs globally for doulas, childbirth educators, and midwives. Rae is also a past Health Care Practices Task Force co-coordinator for the World Alliance of Breastfeeding Action (WABA).