Remembering Janet
September 22, 1958 to March 29, 2017
In Newfoundland & Labrador, Janet is acknowledged as a major driving force, mentor and leader in maternal and infant health. Her skill, knowledge, and kind diplomacy has steered our province on a course of supporting, promoting and protecting breastfeeding as the norm for infant feeding. Janet’s devotion in advocating for women and their babies has led to profound changes in breastfeeding support provided to families in our province.
Prior to her passing in 2017, Janet’s career included contributions as an obstetrical nurse, educator and Provincial Breastfeeding Consultant. She was also instrumental in creating and chairing the Baby-Friendly Council NL and advocating with the government to promote and standardize public and professional maternal health and breastfeeding education. Janet’s skill in collaboration with other disciplines created the foundation for the plethora of breastfeeding and maternal health research achieved in our province.
Janet’s devotion to advocating for women and their babies has led to profound changes in breastfeeding support provided to NL families.
The Janet Murphy Goodridge Legacy Award
Granted annually to a graduate student in any field or discipline completing research in maternal or infant health so that they may present their research at an appropriate conference. Preference will be given to students pursuing breastfeeding research
The link to donate to the award can be found here: https://www.mun.ca/give/baby-friendly-council/
Recipients
2021 – 2022 – Rebecca Maher
Rebecca Maher was the 2nd (2021-2022) recipient of the Janet Murphy Goodridge Legacy Award. Rebecca is a first-year medical school student who completed her MSc from the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation under the supervision of Dr. Erin McGowan and Dr. Daniel Fuller, working closely with the MUN interdisciplinary fertility research team. Rebecca’s research aims to improve reproductive health outcomes for women living with obesity and experiencing infertility, as preconception care for fertility is essential to the maternal and infant health journey.
2020 – 2021 – Alicia Blackmore
The 1st (2020-2021) recipient of the Janet Murphy Goodridge Legacy Award was Alicia Blackmore. Alicia is a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Laurie Twells and is actively involved in the Breastfeeding Research Working Group where she became fully immersed in research surrounding infant nutrition and its impact on infant and maternal health.
