Introducing Birth Companions’ new ambassador

Annabel is a doctor, academic, activist and writer. She is an NHS Consultant in Sexual & Reproductive Health working in South London, and the founder of the Reproductive Justice Initiative (RJI, formerly Decolonising Contraception). RJI works to address health inequalities and racial disparities, and has been recognised with numerous awards, including Grassroots Organisation of the Year at the Sexual Health Awards in 2020.

Her dedication to tackling gender-based violence, addressing racial inequalities, and improving access to healthcare for marginalised groups has been recognised across her career. In 2023, she received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH).

Alongside her clinical work, Annabel is a Harold Moody Scholar and PhD candidate at King’s College London, researching the experiences of Black women in Britain with fertility control methods. She has written for outlets including the Guardian, Independent and Novara Media, co-hosts The Sex Agenda podcast, and is a frequent contributor to TV and radio. Her first book, Divided: Racism, Medicine and Why We Need to Decolonise Healthcare (Wellcome Collection, 2023), has won multiple awards and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Non-Fiction and the British Academy Book Prize for Cultural Understanding. She is working on her second book.

Annabel became a mother herself in 2024, deepening her commitment to campaigning on reproductive justice and healthcare equity. We are honoured to work alongside her as our first Birth Companions Ambassador.

Find out more about Annabel's work here: https://www.annabelsowemimo.com/

If you would like to discuss Birth Companions' Ambassador Programme, please get in touch.