My Mentee by Jay Beaumont
My mentee
Unearthing what sustains Māori midwives is of particular interest to Jay Beaumont, and mentoring new graduate Urunumia Tahana over the past year has provided an opportunity to both learn and teach.
After eight years of midwifery practice in both LMC and employed settings, and unofficially mentoring students and midwives along the way, Jay (Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Uenuku, Ngāti Apa) decided to embark on formal training to become an MFYP mentor in 2020.
“I had a really cool mentor myself. She was non-Māori, but the closest thing to a Māori midwife that I could find at the time, so it was my way of giving back to the profession once I felt I had consolidated my practice,” she says.
Embarking on the mentoring training was about recognising her unique worth, and that of her Māori colleagues. “You can’t replace a Māori midwife,” she explains. “It’s a particular kind of worldview and there aren’t enough of us to go around.”
Jay had a personal connection to her first mentee, Urunumia, and the decision to mentor her was an easy one. “She was often supported by our mutual friend Diana Bates Keepahunuhunu. Sadly, Di passed away suddenly and left a huge gap for Urunumia.
“It became so obvious how important it was to ensure she felt heard and supported, in order for her to transition in to a confident Māori midwife, or we would lose her from the profession. She worked so hard to get through her degree and register; it wasn’t going to be on my conscience to see her walk away,” Jay explains.
Jay’s insights and guidance as a Māori midwife have been invaluable for Urunumia in her first year of work. “I can understand where she’s coming from when she’s reflecting on what she’s seeing in practice, like whānau Māori being treated differently to other whānau. I can unpack that with her and problem-solve it,” she says.
Through the process, Jay has gained even more clarity around where Māori midwives are needed. “I’m telling my Māori colleagues how important it is that we do the preceptor workshop, the MFYP mentoring workshop, and become standards reviewers - so that we can have more Māori representation across the board.”
Recently taking on a new role as Māori liaison for Ara Institute of Technology’s midwifery school, Jay is also working toward her Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership through Canterbury University, focusing on the topic of sustaining the Māori midwifery workforce in Te Waipounamu.
But as is often the case, some of her most significant lessons have come from the partnership she developed with Urunumia. One of the most poignant can also be applied to midwifing women through labour and birth. “Let mentee midwives guide their own journeys,” Jay advises. “Be the sounding board that invokes reflection.”