Health and Community Services
May 16, 2017
Newfoundland and Labrador Reaches Midwifery Milestone
The Honourable John Haggie, Minister of Health and Community Services, today announced that a major milestone has been reached in the implementation of regulated midwifery into the provincial health care system. A midwifery consultant has been successfully recruited who will work with the regional health authorities, and other key stakeholders, to lay the groundwork for midwifery in the public healthcare system. This will include designing a service delivery model and developing policies.
Gisela Becker has been recruited as the Provincial Midwifery Consultant and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the position, including in direct care, leadership, advocacy, teaching and research. Ms. Becker has practised midwifery in a variety of settings in Germany, the Caribbean and Canada and has extensive experience in rural and remote midwifery services and collaborative maternity care. A bio for Ms. Becker can be found in the backgrounder below.
Ms. Becker’s recruitment builds on the introduction of the Midwives Regulations, which came into force on September 30, 2016, under the Health Professions Act. She will begin work as the Provincial Midwifery Consultant in September 2017.
Quote
“My ministerial mandate includes the implementation of regulated midwifery in the public health care system. I am pleased to announce Ms. Becker will guide our province in this regard. She possesses extensive experience and insight; I look forward to working with her as we move towards bringing the valuable practice of midwifery to Newfoundland and Labrador families.”
Honourable John Haggie
Minister of Health and Community Services
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Learn more
Provincial Government Announces New Regulations for Midwifery in Newfoundland and Labrador - www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2016/health/0428n03.aspx
College of Midwives of Newfoundland and Labrador - www.cmnl.ca/
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Media contact
Emily Timmins
Health and Community Services
709-729-6986, 693-1292
EmilyTimmins@gov.nl.ca
Backgrounder
Biography of Gisela Becker
Gisela Becker completed her principal midwifery education in Germany in 1986. She has since practised midwifery in a variety of settings in Germany, the Caribbean and Canada. Ms. Becker moved to Canada permanently in 1995 and has practised as a midwife in Nunavut, Alberta, Quebec and the Northwest Territories. She continues to practise as a midwife.
Ms. Becker is an Advances in Labour and Risk Management (ALARM) and Neonatal Resuscitation Provider (NRP) Instructor. She also represents midwifery on the National NRP Steering Committee and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada ALARM Committee. Ms. Becker was the president of the Canadian Association of Midwives from 2009 to 2010 and represented Canadian midwifery at the International Confederation of Midwives Council in 2008 in Glasgow, Scotland, and 2011 in Durban, South Africa.
Ms. Becker has extensive experience in rural and remote midwifery services and collaborative maternity care. Her research interests and projects include rural and remote midwifery care, maternity services for vulnerable populations and midwifery in Canada. She held the position of Alberta Health Services Director of Midwifery Services from 2013 to 2015 and Assistant Professor in the Midwifery Education Program at Mount Royal University in Calgary from 2015 to 2017.
2017 05 16 10:15 a.m.