BULLETIN

Bev Pownall

Scope of practice

In July, the Midwifery Council reported on feedback received from the first consultation on the draft revised midwifery scope of practice. The feedback had been collated and analysed by an external organisation commissioned by the Council. The College had provided a submission on the draft scope - informed by extensive member consultation - and the themes identified by the College were visible in the Council’s report. The Council has committed to developing a second draft in response to the 224 submissions it received, and consulting with the sector again on the next iteration. square

World Breastfeeding Week 2022

The theme for this year’s World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), held 1-7 August and co-ordinated by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, was Step Up For Breastfeeding: Educate and Support. Target audiences for this message included governments, health systems, workplaces and communities.

WBW has been aligning with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals since 2016 because of the strong links between breastfeeding and nutrition, food security for infants, and the ever-increasing issues of poverty and inequity globally.

Midwives play a key role in supporting breastfeeding women, and recognise the importance of breastfeeding to maternal, infant and child health, both short and long-term. The NZ government has expressed a commitment to increasing the number of mothers who breastfeed for longer (Verrall, 2021) but actions speak louder than words, and the time to actually step up, fund, resource and provide the structures to enable and support women to breastfeed is well overdue. This includes solutions to the conditions, workload and staffing problems faced by midwives. square

another midwife joins New Zealand Order of Merit

The College congratulates Bev Pownall (Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Kahungungu ki Wairarapa), who was recently made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to health - in particular breastfeeding.

Bev qualified as a midwife in London in 1996 and certified as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 1997. Since then she has mentored many health professionals to become qualified IBCLCs, worked with both the New Zealand Breastfeeding Alliance and New Zealand Lactation Consultants Association serving on both organisations’ boards, and played a key role in the implementation of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative throughout Aotearoa’s maternity facilities.

Her contributions to national breastfeeding strategy have been recognised, including the integral role she played in the development of national tongue-tie in breastfeeding guidelines.

Oromairaki Community Maternity Unit

Bev served 13 years as treasurer of the Auckland regional College branch and continues to represent the region on the Northern Breastfeeding Network. A founding and ongoing contributor to the Big Latch-On and World Breastfeeding Week in Aotearoa, Bev is also an active member of the Māori Women’s Welfare League.

She continues to support whānau throughout their birthing and breastfeeding journeys at Ngā Hau Mangere Birthing Centre, where she enjoys working alongside South Auckland’s diverse communities. Ngā mihi nunui ki a koe e Bev. square

ICM: governance reforms and global guideline for midwifery leadership ratified

As a member of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the College was represented at the annual ICM Council meeting, held virtually in June. Two significant remits were passed at this meeting, both of which provide ongoing guidance for the development of midwifery.

GOVERNANCE REFORM

The decision to reduce the number of ICM board members to one representative Turn your lactation knowledge and skills into an international qualification...

IBCLC Examination Eligibility Criteria

Health Sciences Education

• Registration/degree as a recognised health professional or 14 subject courses, AND

• 95 hours of education on human lactation and breastfeeding, including 5 hours of education focused on communication skills, AND

• Examination eligibility for midwives is Pathway 1: 1,000 hours in an appropriate supervised setting

Lactation Specific Education

Lactation-Specific Clinical Practice

(All lactation specific education and clinical hours must be completed 5 years prior to application)

www.iblce.org | +61 7 5529 8811 apaadmin@iblce.org

per ICM region, plus a treasurer, was agreed at last year’s Council meeting. This decision does not impact New Zealand; as part of the Western Pacific region we have only ever had one representative for our region - currently Ann Kinnear from Australia.

This year, the Council agreed to ratify the Terms of Reference for an independent election committee, paving the way for ICM board members to be selected by appointment rather than being voted in by the regional membership associations. The rationale for this change is to strengthen the overall governance of ICM and ensure there is equity, diversity and inclusivity in the board’s composition.

GLOBAL GUIDELINE FOR MIDWIFERY LEADERSHIP

This document was ratified, although discussion acknowledged the need for changes to further strengthen it.

These revisions will be made and an updated version will be presented at next year’s Council meeting (to be held face-to-face in Bali next year, directly before the ICM congress). The document will be available on the ICM website shortly, alongside the recently published Enabling Environments policy brief. square

opening of Oromairaki

Oromairaki Community Maternity Unit, a new birthing facility located within Toka Hāpai/ Selwyn Health Hub in Rolleston, Canterbury, was officially opened at the end of May.

The name Oromairaki means ‘resonating sounds of heaven’ and was gifted by Te Taumutu Rūnanga. It acknowledges Hinete-iwaiwa, the atua wahine (female deity) of childbirth, and represents the sighs of motherhood and cries of new life.

The new facility - situated a 15-minute ambulance drive from Christchurch Women’s Hospital - contains two birth rooms, two assessment rooms and ten postnatal rooms.

Whānau of the rapidly growing Selwyn district now have a modern alternative following the closing of Lincoln Maternity Hospital, with all staff from Lincoln transferring to Oromairaki. square