Meet the New Midwives of Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador recently launched its first midwifery program. There was a time when midwives commonly delivered babies in the province, especially in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. But over the years, they faded out of use. The new program hopes to reinvigorate interest in midwifery and bring them back to the province.
The first four midwives will work out of the Bell Place Community Health Centre in Gander. They’ll work alongside public health nurses, social workers and lactation consultants as well as in the hospital with nurses, obstetricians and family doctors.
We sat down with the four midwives who now call The Rock home to find out how they feel about taking on this new challenge.
Brianna Thompson
1. Have you worked as a midwife elsewhere, other than in Newfoundland & Labrador?
The majority of my practice has been in Ontario in the Ottawa Valley. I have also had the opportunity to work in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut as well as Puvirnituq, Nunavik, Quebec.
2. Tell us what you love about your province.
The language – I’m learning new words and phrases all the time! There is so much culture and tradition in Newfoundland. It’s been a lot of fun immersing my family in this community.
3. Does working in a largely rural community have its challenges? Tell us something interesting about this!
A frequent message seen here is “Cancelled due to weather.” There is a lot of travel in rural communities for both clients and midwives. I spend a lot of time with my snowblower and am always keeping an eye on which neighbours have sleds in case I get called out during a storm!
4. What have the first few weeks of work been like for you?
It has been great collaborating with my new midwifery team. We are working with a blank slate and we have a lot of big ideas. We are so excited to be caring for the women of this region and look forward to welcoming their babies earth-side.
Catha McMaster
1. Have you worked as a midwife elsewhere, other than in Newfoundland & Labrador?
I’m a recent graduate of the Midwifery Education Program of Ryerson University. I did my clerkship in Peterborough, Ontario after completing several placements in urban and rural locations including Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and Haliburton Ontario.
2. Tell us what you love about your province.
What I love about Ontario is the maple syrup and seasons being so distinct. What I am loving about Newfoundland is the welcoming people and the SNOW! I love to cross country ski and finally there is snow enough to do it! I am looking forward to visiting the ocean and beaches I am hearing about. I was raised along the New England coast and really miss the ocean and waves.
3. Does working in a largely rural community have its challenges? Tell us something interesting about this!
The challenges we have has many faces in Newfoundland. There is the distance and the weather is a big factor obviously. We will address using technology to improve access through secure telehealth connections for one option. Collaboration with Public Health and Nurse Practitioners in outlying towns offers another opportunity to align our philosophies of care and be able to work together to support people who choose midwifery care appropriately.
4. What have the first few weeks of work been like for you?
The first few weeks have been hectic, engaging and exciting! There is a lot to do as we move to re-launch midwifery, a long-standing and honoured role in Newfoundland. It has been wonderful to see how the community is welcoming midwifery and everyone – man, woman and child – has a story of their Mom, Grandmom, Aunt, Cousin or other loved one who was delivered by a midwife, was a midwife or other connection.
We had our first birth and also delivered post-partum care to a couple of women who had babies in Grand Falls-Windsor prior to the Obstetrical unit re-opening in January.
Maud Addai
1. Have you worked as a midwife elsewhere, other than in Newfoundland & Labrador?
Yes I have worked in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and a very short period in Manitoba.
2. Tell us what you love about your province.
The province is devoid of the bustle and hustle of big communities. I love the colourful towns all along the coast. The wildlife is supposed to be incredible – I can’t wait to see a moose and a whale!
And the people are incredible. There’s so much culture here, so much to take it.
3. Does working in a largely rural community have its challenges? Tell us something interesting about this!
Most of my practice in Canada has been mainly in the rural communities. The acceptance of midwifery services is always a challenge due to the lack of understanding of the profession. The inability of the of physician group recognizing midwives as primary care providers sometimes.
The long distances between communities sometimes limits midwives from providing home birth and postnatal home visits to some of the clients.
In my experience it has enhanced collaboration with other care providers like the NPs, PHNs and GPs in the very remote communities. Very innovative model of care both pre and postnatal to suit our women’s needs.
4. What have the first few weeks of work been like for you?
Lots of community engagement doing information sessions about midwives and what they do. Taking women into care. Trying to work out call schedule. Developing process and information handout on various topics and creating practice protocols.
Renee Boland
1. Have you worked as a midwife elsewhere, other than in Newfoundland & Labrador?
I have worked for more than a decade in Northland, New Zealand.
2. Tell us what you love about your province.
This is my home. I love the ruggedness, the unpredictability the unbridled beauty. I love how genuinely down to earth and hospitable Newfoundlanders are. It’s a pretty magic place.
3. Does working in a largely rural community have its challenges? Tell us something interesting about this!
I have always worked in a rural/remote rural setting and this is the setting I love best. Of course it has its obvious challenges, but I love the challenge it presents. I also love working within my full scope of practice and providing great care to women and families who are used to missing out on most urban amenities.
4. What have the first few weeks of work been like for you?
The first few weeks have been, as one would expect, challenging. Coming from a culture where Midwifery is the ‘norm’, where it is the means by which maternity care is delivered to all New Zealand women regardless of location. If the woman becomes ‘high-risk’, she still maintains the continuity of her midwife along with an obstetrician. It is a new experience having to explain what a midwife is and how we work. It’s also been incredibly exciting to be part of the team that is able to offer this choice to women and families.