Dr Camilla Nykjaer

Profile

I am a Lecturer in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health in the School of Biomedical Sciences. My work focuses on supporting healthy lifestyle behaviours during pregnancy and the postnatal period, and on improving how services enable these behaviours in real‑world settings.

I graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Public Health Nutrition from Leeds Beckett University in 2009 before completing an MSc in Nutrition, Obesity & Health at the University of Leeds in 2011. I went on to complete a PhD with the School of Food Science & Nutrition, examining the association between maternal dietary patterns in pregnancy and offspring growth. After working as a Teaching Fellow in Research Design and Statistical Analyses within the School of Biomedical Sciences (2015–2017), I was appointed Lecturer in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health in 2017.

I am now the Academic Programme Lead for three postgraduate pathways: the MSc in Sport and Exercise Medicine, the PGCert in Musculoskeletal Medicine, and the new PGCert in MSK Ultrasound. I jointly lead this programme suite with Professor (Dr) Dane Vishnubala, Professor and Consultant in Sport and Exercise Medicine, who serves as Clinical Lead to ensure that our programmes bring together strong clinical expertise, academic rigour and applied practice. I also serve as Deputy Editor of BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine (from March 2026) supporting editorial decision‑making and peer‑review processes.

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Responsibilities

• Academic Programme Leader MSc Sport and Exercise Medicine
• Academic Programme Leader PGCert Musculoskeletal Medicine (online)
• Academic Programme Leader PGCert Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

Research interests

My research focuses on improving maternal health during pregnancy and the postnatal period by supporting healthy lifestyle behaviours, particularly physical activity. I am committed to making maternity care more accessible, inclusive and responsive for all birthing people and new parents. As an Honorary Research Fellow at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) and a member of the Leeds Maternal Healthy Weight steering group, I work closely with Leeds City Council, Leeds Integrated Care Board, and LTHT and I support several of their initiatives to boost physical activity during the perinatal period. My research spans mixed‑methods designs, feasibility studies, community‑based interventions and qualitative inquiry, alongside systematic and scoping reviews. Across this work, I am interested in how evidence, policy and everyday practice can be better aligned to support women’s health in real‑world settings.

Current projects

My current research spans several applied maternal‑health projects that aim to improve support for physical activity, wellbeing and access to maternity care.

Bump and Baby Fit

I lead the evaluation of 'Bump and Baby Fit' , a fully funded programme that aims to enhance pregnancy and postpartum wellbeing and physical health in women at risk of developing gestational diabetes (GDM). This programme offers free yoga sessions and a free 12‑month Bump and Baby Membership, which includes access to public swimming at Active Leeds leisure centres in underserved areas of Leeds.

Developed by Leeds Integrated Care Board and Active Leeds in collaboration with the University of Leeds, the programme is based on evidence that lifestyle interventions in early pregnancy can reduce the incidence of GDM by up to 30%.

My research contributes to the evaluation of the programme by exploring participants’ physical activity levels, mental wellbeing and wider experiences of taking part, as well as understanding barriers and enablers to continued engagement.

Bump and Baby Fit Mother and Baby Yoga

The Athena Pathway

The Athena Pathway is an enhanced midwifery care pathway for pregnant people in Leeds with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 kg/m² or more at booking. Rising numbers of higher‑BMI pregnancies at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) have highlighted the need for more personalised care, as this group faces increased risks such as gestational diabetes, caesarean birth, stillbirth, assisted birth, postpartum haemorrhage and poorer mental‑health outcomes.

Developed by LTHT in 2023, the pathway includes midwife‑led Active Conversations about healthy lifestyle choices, one‑to‑one wellbeing support and tailored birth‑planning and infant‑feeding guidance.

Working in collaboration with LTHT, I am leading an FBS Impact & Innovation–funded project to strengthen and evaluate the pathway. This includes a registered rapid review of national and international care models (PROSPERO: CRD420251181347) and a UK‑wide mapping exercise of enhanced obesity‑in‑pregnancy pathways across NHS Trusts, combining systematic database searches with grey‑literature retrieval and FOI enquiries.

This work is delivered by a multidisciplinary team of midwives, medics, researchers and students. Findings from the rapid review, mapping exercise, and service‑user feedback, will inform further refinement of the Athena Pathway.

My First 1000 Days

I lead the physical activity workstream of the University of Leeds flagship project My First 1000 Days, which aims to enhance the health and long-term outcomes of families in Leeds.

Discover more about the physical activity workstream in this below video from the project launch.

Enhancing access to maternity care using Wellbeing Pods in community hubs and libraries

I lead a UKRI IAA funded project addressing the challenges faced by birthing people and new parents in deprived areas in accessing maternity care. Those from low economic backgrounds are ten times more likely to experience stillbirth, making access to quality maternity care crucial.

To tackle this, Leeds City Council, Leeds Health Partnership, and the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board have set up ‘Wellbeing Pods’ in community hubs and libraries. These pods aim to reach individuals who find clinical spaces uncomfortable or inaccessible. In this project, we are investigating the experiences of stakeholders and beneficiaries of the Wellbeing Pods to assess whether access and engagement with maternity services has improved. Additionally, we explore the impact on engagement with other services available in the community hubs and libraries (e.g. benefits advice, digital skills development, employment support, health and wellbeing support).

Our research involves collecting data through online surveys, focus groups and interviews to understand the use, acceptability, demand, and practicality of the Wellbeing Pods. The findings will help health and care commissioners decide on the future of this initiative and adapt maternity services based on feedback, demonstrating the impact of community-based care options, and providing patients with choices concerning where and how they access care.

Maternal Postnatal Check Project

I lead an ESRC IAA funded quality improvement project focused on improving the 6–8 week maternal postnatal check in one of Leeds’ most underserved and ethnically diverse Primary Care Networks (PCNs). Working in partnership with the Burmantofts, Harehills and Richmond Hill (BHR) PCN, this project aims to co-produce a Maternal Postnatal Check Toolkit to support more consistent, inclusive and evidence-informed postnatal care. The toolkit includes a standardised GP template, referral prompts and accessible patient-facing resources hosted on the Women’s Health Hub webpage. Through listening groups, implementation support and evaluation of practice data, the project seeks to strengthen how postnatal checks address maternal physical activity, pelvic health, emotional wellbeing and recovery.

MAMA‑Move (Muslim and Motherhood Activity)

MAMA‑Move is a new mixed-methods research study exploring how faith and culture shape physical activity across the lifecourse, including during pregnancy and the first year after birth, among Muslim women in the UK. The project has been co‑developed with my colleague and postdoctoral researcher, Dr Jinan Rabbee, whose doctoral work examined faith-based health messaging, and with MSc Sport and Exercise Medicine student and physiotherapist, Khadija Baghdady, who is undertaking this work as part of her dissertation under my supervision. Their lived experience, cultural insight and professional expertise are central to shaping the study’s design and priorities.

Using an online UK‑wide survey available in English and Arabic, alongside women‑only focus groups for those who are pregnant or up to 12 months postnatal, the study aims to understand how faith and culture influence movement behaviours and to identify what meaningful, culturally sensitive support looks like from the perspective of Muslim women themselves. If you would like to be involved or learn more, please email mamamove@leeds.ac.uk.

Media

I am media trained and have appeared on a number of different media outlets talking about my research. Links to some of my news appearances and press releases can be found below.

Primary investigator (PI)

• Co‑producing a maternal postnatal check toolkit for the 6–8 week appointment
• Enhancing access to maternity care using Wellbeing Pods in community hubs and libraries
• MAMA‑Move (Muslim and Motherhood Activity)

Co-investigator (Co-I)

• My First 1000 Days: A feasibility study of centering-based group care to improve physical, psychological, developmental, and social outcomes of caregivers and infants

Qualifications

• Honorary Research Fellow; Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (2024)
• Fellow of Higher Education Academy; University of Leeds/Higher Education Academy (2020)
• PhD Nutritional Epidemiology; University of Leeds (2017)
• MSc Nutrition, Obesity and Health; University of Leeds (2011)
• BSc Public Health Nutrition; Leeds Beckett University (2009)

Professional memberships

• British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine

Student education

I am currently the Academic Programme Lead for the MSc in Sport and Exercise Medicine, the online PGCert in Musculoskeletal Medicine, and the new PGCert in MSK Ultrasound, and I sit on the School’s Taught Student Education Committee (STSEC). I contribute to teaching across all degree programmes within the School of Biomedical Sciences (BMS) and manage severals modules at level 3 and 5, plus research project supervision (BSc and MSc). My teaching also extends across the University, including supervising ENQUIRE‑D research projects, delivering seminars for midwifery students, and providing guest teaching for the Master of Midwifery programme at UNISA University in Indonesia. I act as an academic personal tutor across all levels, and my work in student education has been recognised through multiple Faculty Partnership Award nominations and a Faculty Partnership Award for Assessment and Feedback.

Celebrating our MSc SEM graduates December 2025!

Research groups and institutes

• Physical Activity and Public Health
• Sport and Exercise Sciences
• Cardiovascular and Exercise Sciences

Projects

<li><a href="//phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/2469-returning-to-readiness:-what-shapes-postnatal-physical-activity,-pelvic-health-and-recovery?">Returning to Readiness: What Shapes Postnatal Physical Activity, Pelvic Health and Recovery?</a></li>