Murray Enkin

Murray W. Enkin (May 29, 1924 – June 6, 2021) was a Canadian physician and writer. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, and studied medicine at the University of Toronto and later specialized as an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn. He was a professor, philosopher, activist, public speaker and author, who contributed to the fields of maternal care and childbirth, and evidence-based medicine.

Career and impact

In 2012 Enkin was awarded the Order of Canada[1] for "his contributions to maternal care and the development of midwifery as a recognized profession in Canada."[2] CBC reported at that time that "he lived and worked in Hamilton for nearly 60 years where his practices and research into family-centred maternal care grew to become the norm across the country."[3] He became a faculty member at McMaster University's School of Medicine not long after its founding.[4]

He was an advocate and speaker for the International Childbirth Education Foundation and advocated family-centred maternity including the presence of partners at childbirth, and newborn care with the baby rooming in.[5]

He was an early supporter of midwifery as a profession, contributing "to midwives becoming accepted members of the health care system in Ontario and to setting a tone of collaboration and respect between midwives and other health care professions."[6] In 1982, he was an expert witness in a court case which led to the establishment of midwifery as a profession in Canada.[7] During his time in Hamilton, he is also credited by Lynn Johnston with inspiring her career as a cartoonist.[8]

He has been a member of the editorial board for the journal Birth since the publication's founding in 1973.[9] Enkin co-authored Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth (1989), which, according to a review in Science, "moved obstetrics from the rear to the forefront of scientifically based clinical disciplines",[10] and provided the basis for The Cochrane Collaboration.

Murray Enkin died on June 6, 2021.[11]

Books

Enkin, Murray; Iain Chalmers (1982). Effectiveness and Satisfaction in Antenatal Care. MacKeith Press. ISBN 0901260592.

Chalmers, Iain; Murray Enkin; Marc J.N.C. Keirse (1989). Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192615589.

Enkin, Murray; Marc J.N.C. Keirse; James Neilson; Caroline Crowther; Lelia Duley; Ellen Hodnett; Justus Hofmeyer (third edition 2000). A Guide to Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0192631732.

Jadad, Alejandro R.; Murray Enkin (second edition 2007). Randomized controlled trials: Question, answers, and musings. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9781405132664.

Enkin, Murray (2021). Musings: Time, Place, and Beyond. ISBN 9781006913099

References

  1. ^ Office of the Secretary to the Governor General. "Dr. Murray W. Enkin, C.M., M.D., D.Sc., F.R.C.S.C." The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  2. ^ "Midwifery founder awarded Order of Canada". fhs.mcmaster.ca. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  3. ^ "Copps, Dryden to receive Order of Canada honours". CBC News.
  4. ^ Daly, Jeanne (2005). Evidence-Based Medicine and the Search for a Science of Clinical Care. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 162. ISBN 0520243161.
  5. ^ Ferrier MacKay, Susan (25 June 2021). "Dr. Murray Enkin was a forward-thinking obstetrician and champion of midwifery". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  6. ^ Vicki Van Wager (Director, Midwifery Education Programme), Citation and Introduction of Dr. Murray Enkin for an honorary degree as Doctor of Laws, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Ontario, June 20, 1997.
  7. ^ Bourgeault, Ivy Lynn (2006). Push! The Struggle for Midwifery in Ontario. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 72, 110, 257. ISBN 0773530258.
  8. ^ Hampson, Sarah (June 14, 2003). "For rich and for real". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  9. ^ Sakala, Carol; Swenson, Norma (March 1999). "Murray Enkin: Celebration and Tribute". Birth. 26 (1): 1–3. doi:10.1046/j.1523-536x.1999.00001.x. PMID 10352047.
  10. ^ Kramer, Michael S. (February 15, 1991). "Review: Medical Assessment". Science. New Series, Vol. 251, No. 4995 (4995): 815–816. doi:10.1126/science.251.4995.815-a. PMID 17775462.
  11. ^ "Murray ENKIN". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 24 August 2021.