Welcome to CPIT School of midwifery

The School of Midwifery at CPIT has a well established track record in midwifery education. Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology commenced the Bachelor of Midwifery in 1997 and established a close working relationship with the School of Midwifery at Otago from this time.  In addition to the Bachelor of Midwifery Programme, the School delivers a number of short courses and workshops that are recognised as requirements of the Midwifery Council of New Zealand Recertification Programme including the Technical Skills workshops and several elective short courses and study days. The School has demonstrated a responsive approach to the needs of rural maternity care providers by offering locally based delivery of the Technical Skills workshops for the last few years. This has enabled staff to build up good solid relationships with District Health Boards and midwives in the areas where our satellite groups will now be based such as the Nelson/Marlborough region, the West Coast and South Canterbury. We are delighted to be a part of this challenging and exciting development.

Staff
Mary Kensington (Co-Head of School of Midwifery) 
Jacqui Anderson (Co-Head of School of Midwifery) 
Rea Daellenbach (Research Co-ordinator) 
Lorna Davies  
Ruth Martis 
Julie Richards
Silke Powell
Amber Clarke
Paw Paw Soe (Midwifery Administrator)

teaching_team_at_cpit

Staff Profiles

	Mary Kensington Hello & welcome to the School of Midwifery, CPIT, Christchurch. I have been involved in midwifery education in Christchurch the last 14 years and had the privilege to assist in establishing the first Bachelor of Midwifery degree at CPIT and now the new degree with a blended delivery approach in collaboration with Otago Polytechnic. It is very exciting times in midwifery education when we are able to offer applicants who live outside of the main centres in the South Island the opportunity to study to become a midwife. My own midwifery journey has been supported and challenged by the women and their families I have met along the way in New Zealand and in my travels and living overseas. Women birthing, women as students of midwifery, women as midwives, women as educators and my daughter – all have sustained my passion for midwifery and confirmed the importance of information/knowledge to be able to determine ones journey whether in childbirth or as a student of midwifery. I have worked in hospital, community and homebirth settings and currently carry a small caseload where possible. I work with a wonderful team of midwifery educators and we look forward to walking with you on your journey to be a midwife.
	Jacqui Anderson
	Julie Richards Kia ora and welcome to midwifery education at CPIT. For many this will be a life changing career choice and it certainly was for me in the late 198o’s. I came into midwifery just prior to the return of midwifery autonomy and have witnessed and been a part of exciting and challenging changes in our profession. My background is in homebirth and I feel passionate about supporting women to make informed choices in their childbirth journey. I continue with a small case load of women alongside my teaching position. I feel very privileged to work with an enthusiastic team of lecturers in the Midwifery School and we look forward to sharing knowledge and experiences in a creative and dynamic way.
	Lorna Davies A warm welcome to the School of Midwifery at CPIT. I have worked here in New Zealand for four years now and before that I worked in midwifery education at a university in the UK for 10 years. I chose to migrate to New Zealand, largely because of the international reputation that New Zealand has in both practice and education. During my fourteen years in midwifery education, I have maintained a practice profile, working in both hospital and community based settings and carrying a small caseload where possible.  I am passionate about both midwifery and learning and teaching. I see my role as an educator as an extension of my practice role, as I “midwife” students on their journey to becoming fully fledged practitioners.  During the development of this new programme, I have taken on an enormous interest in e-learning and the opportunities that it offers to extend the boundaries and make midwifery education a realistic option for many more women.
	Rea Daellenbach Kia ora koutou and welcome to midwifery education. I am a lecturer in midwifery at CPIT. My two main teaching areas are women’s studies and research to inform midwifery practice. My passion for midwifery began in the mid-1980s when I had my first children and joined the Christchurch Home Birth Association and Maternity Action Alliance. These groups lobbied for midwifery autonomy and midwifery education as separate from nursing education. During the 1990s, I became involved with the New Zealand College of Midwives as a consumer activist. At the same time I completed a doctoral thesis at the University of Canterbury on the home birth movement in New Zealand. These experiences inspired me to take up teaching in midwifery and for me it is an honour and a pleasure to be able to work with midwifery students as they learn to become midwives.
	Ruth Martis Tēnā koutou katoa , guten Tag and a special welcome to the midwifery programme here at CPIT. I emigrated from Germany to New Zealand with my Kiwi husband in 1978 and have been involved with midwifery education off and on since 1993. I joined the CPIT midwifery school at the end of 2007. Through completing my midwifery education in 1983 in Wellington I realised the importance of keeping birth normal. I believe that a woman can feel victorious after a birth 'she did it' no matter what birth outcome or feel like a victim and midwives are part of this experience. Giving birth to four beautiful children added to this belief. This is why I became a homebirth midwife and became actively involved with the ‘save the midwife’ movement during the eighties. It was a great privilege to be able to be part of the birth of the New Zealand College of Midwives in 1988 and see our dream and hard work come to achieve midwifery autonomy in 1990. Since then I have worked in a variety of birth settings in New Zealand, Australia, Europe and three South East Asian countries, as well as educational settings that enabled me to be part of shaping midwifery education and research. When possible I work as a casual core midwife at Lincoln Birthing unit. Congratulations, you have chosen to be part of a wonderful, enjoyable and challenging profession who seeks to support women to keep their pregnancy and birth journey normal realising that women ‘can do it’.
	Silke Powell Hello, I’m Silke Powell. I’ve practiced as a midwife for the best part of two decades, and have recently made a part-move into midwifery education with CPIT. Most of my midwifery practice has been as a ‘Community Midwife’ in England, especially enjoying the opportunities for supporting homebirth. I moved with my young family to New Zealand 3 years ago, seeking an opportunity to work in a truly woman-centred way. I currently work as a Core Midwife in Blenheim, and as a satellite tutor for CPIT, supporting the learning of Nelson Marlborough-based student midwives who are undertaking the new programme.
	Amber Clarke I am passionate about reclaiming the birth rites that are ours as part of our geneology/whakapapa. Nga Matauranga I nga wa o mua. I liken the role of the midwife to that of the kai karanga-creating a safe world pathway The pathway to PAPATUANUKU PAPA TUA NUKU Our divine Mama deity Our whenua And PAPA An explosion TUA NUKU Between two dimensions/worlds I have been privileged to dance this path three times myself, and hundreds of times beside other wahine toa as a daughter, sister and midwife.I am a fiercely proud Kai Tahu wahine with claims to Pakeha and Samoan heritage aswellActively involved in my communities including: Maori Wahine Toko I te Ora, NZCOM, Nga Maia o Aotearoa me TeWaipounamu, Homebirth Association. Currently transitioning from independent midwifery practice predominantly with rakatahi over the last seven years to organic gardener, core midwife, kaiako at Te Wananga o Otautahi and taurima doing postgraduate studies centred on Maori ways of breathing wellness and Iwi development. Tihei Mauri Ora