Murray Enkin


Murray W. Enkin is a Canadian obstetrician, professor, and author, who has contributed to the fields of maternal care and evidence-based medicine.

Career and impact

In 2012 Enkin was awarded the Order of Canada for "his contributions to maternal care and the development of midwifery as a recognized profession in Canada." 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." He became a faculty member at McMaster University's School of Medicine not long after its founding.
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." In 1982, he was an expert witness in a court case which led to the establishment of midwifery as a profession in Canada. During his time in Hamilton, he is also credited by Lynn Johnston with inspiring her career as a cartoonist.
He has been a member of the editorial board for the journal Birth since the publication's founding in 1973. Enkin co-authored Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth, which, according to a review in Science, "moved obstetrics from the rear to the forefront of scientifically based clinical disciplines."

Books

Enkin, Murray; Iain Chalmers. Effectiveness and Satisfaction in Antenatal Care. MacKeith Press..
Chalmers, Iain; Murray Enkin; Marc J.N.C. Keirse. Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth. Oxford University Press..
Enkin, Murray; Marc J.N.C. Keirse; James Neilson; Caroline Crowther; Lelia Duley; Ellen Hodnett; Justus Hofmeyer. A Guide to Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth. Oxford University Press..
Jadad, Alejandro R.; Murray Enkin. Randomized controlled trials: Question, answers, and musings. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing..