Listen Now: 
Ground-breaking midwife Mina Timutimu of Te Atiawa and Ngati Mutunga,has died after a short illness.
Mrs Timutimu was this year named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of her 50-year contribution as a nurse and midwife.
She was the first Maori on the national committee of the New Zealand College of Midwives, and in recent years has served as its kaumatua.
As an inaugural member of the Midwifery Council of New Zealand she developed cultural safety standards used by the profession.
Most of her working life was spent in Taranaki, where in 1995 she helped set up the region’s first Maori community maternity service, Nga Puna Ora Te Atiawa, as well as other support networks, including a kaumatua group in Waitara.
In an interview with the Taranaki Daily News earlier this year she said she considered her hands and heart were her biggest tools, as she was able use her hands to check on the baby's progress as well as to provide comfort to the mother during the birth.
Mina Timutimu’s tangi is at Tauarau Marae in Ruatoki.
!["p_facebook"]("/site/uma/images/story_img/facebook.jpg")
& !["p_twitter"]("/site/uma/images/story_img/twitter.jpg")
Copyright © 2016, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
RELATED NEWS
