Birthing centre hires new midwife

The Nunavut health department has hired a new midwife for the Kivalliq birthing centre, giving the centre’s sole remaining midwife some extra help.

In early December, one of the centre’s two midwives went on a scheduled leave. The centre is based in Rankin Inlet and serves pregnant women in the Kivalliq region.

The remaining midwife was worried about carrying the heavy workload on her own.

The health department asked a nurse-midwife from the Rankin health centre helped out with deliveries. It also brought in midwives from the South to fill in.

Now, after months of recruiting efforts — and a little bit of luck — the Nunavut health department has found a second full-time midwife for the birthing centre.

Joanne Bezzubetz, executive director of the Kivalliq health department, said while they were searching for midwives, the health department was also recruiting nurses from Australia.

They struck gold when they found a nurse with midwifery training.

“She had originally been recruited to work as a nurse, however upon finding out that we had a birthing centre and would be needing midwives, she preferred to change her employment to that of a midwife,” Bezzubetz said.

The new midwife has signed on for three years.