Gwendolyn Spencer, OD (26 October 1916 – 20 August 2015) was a nurse and midwife, who co-founded the Jamaican Midwives' Association. An advocate for professionalism, she was instrumental in developing training programs for midwives and establishing a professional pay grade from the government for their services. She received the Order of Distinction for her contributions to healthcare in the country.

Early life

Gwendolyn Euphemia Omphroy was born on 26 October 1916 at

Victoria Jubilee Hospital Victoria Jubilee Hospital (initially known as the Victoria Jubilee Lying-In Hospital) was founded in 1891 and opened to the public in 1892 in Kingston, Jamaica. The current facility, the largest maternity hospital in the English-speaking Caribb ...

(VJH) in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

to Violet (née Williams) Omphroy. From the age of twelve, Omphroy knew that she wanted to become a nurse. After completing her elementary education in Christiana, she attended Westwood High School in

Trelawny Parish Trelawny (Jamaican Patois: ''Trilaani'' or ''Chrilaani'') is a parish in the county of Cornwall in northwest Jamaica. Its capital is Falmouth. It is bordered by the parishes of Saint Ann in the east, Saint James in the west, and Saint Eliza ...

and went on to study nursing at

Kingston Public Hospital Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) is a public general hospital in Kingston, Jamaica. It is the oldest public hospital in Jamaica and is the main hospital in south eastern Jamaica. The hospital is operated by the South East Regional Health Authority ...

. She completed her studies at Victoria Jubilee Hospital, graduating in 1945.

Career

Upon her graduation, Omphroy began working as a midwife at VJH. In 1950, she married Egbert Spencer and the couple subsequently had three children: Wayne, Althea and Noel. Receiving a government scholarship, she left her children in care of her husband and went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to complete a course in training midwives at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Graduating with a master's degree in 1956, she returned to Jamaica and became a tutoring sister at VJH. In 1960, along with Barbara Patterson, Pearlyn Raglan and Ena Wanliss, Spencer co-founded the Jamaican Midwives' Association, becoming the inaugural secretary-treasurer. She went on to serve as president of the organization for a decade and was a staunch advocate for recognition of midwives as trained medical professionals. In 1966, the organization gained membership in the

International Confederation of Midwives The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) supports, represents and works to strengthen professional associations of midwives on a global basis. At present, ICM has over 100 members, representing midwifery associations in around 100 countrie ...

, leading Spencer to travel to various countries like Canada, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland to improve the station of midwives worldwide. In 1969, she was appointed matron at VJH. Retiring from VJH in 1976, Spencer was hired a few months later to work in the Ministry of Health on the family planning programme. With her retirement, the Midwives Training Programme was phased out at VJH. She led the struggle to have training continue, through the Health Ministry. As midwives were classified under the Ministry of Local Government, Spencer first had to convince the government that the classification of technical support services, did not take into account the specialized nature of midwifery. After presenting job descriptions and gaining approval from the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Public Service, midwives were given their own pay grade. In 1978, Spencer received the

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Act'') i ...

for her contributions to maternal and child care in the country. By 1996, she had helped reestablish the midwife training programme at VJH and develop a program for

Cornwall Regional Hospital Cornwall Regional Hospital is a public hospital in Montego Bay, Jamaica, located in the Mount Salem district. It is the main hospital in western Jamaica. The hospital is operated by the Western Regional Health Authority on behalf of the Ministry ...

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...

. She retired for the second time in 2002.

Death and legacy

Spencer died on 20 August 2015 in Meadowbrook, Jamaica and was buried in Dovecot Cemetery. She is remembered for her pioneering development of midwifery in Jamaica and the founding of the Jamaican Midwives' Association.

References

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