Dedication

We would like to dedicate this year’s report to Becky Attenborough. The Nova Scotia Atlee Perinatal Database (NSAPD), upon which this report of perinatal indicator is based, has been managed since its inception in 1980 by the Reproductive Care Program (RCP) of Nova Scotia. Rebecca (Becky) Attenborough has managed RCP for the past 30 years. We say good-bye to Becky in this role with sadness but, on the other hand, with the greatest wishes for a well-earned and happy retirement.

Becky’s tireless dedication to the role has contributed to the success of the NSAPD in immeasurable ways. On the technical side, Becky shepherded the transition from legacy software into a modern relational database. To do so required the utmost administrative skill to ensure facilities were willing and able to contribute uninterrupted data despite reorganizations and resource reallocation. At the heart of her success is Becky’s decade of experience with vulnerable newborns from across the province as a neonatal intensive care nurse and later as head nurse. The knowledge and compassion that she accumulated was incorporated into the development of the NSAPD with substantial influence on the amount and relevance of clinical information captured and incorporating standardized reporting. Most importantly, Becky has been the single biggest user of the NSAPD to guide the planning and management of perinatal care provision, facilitate research, and support the invaluable quality review work that she and her team of perinatal nurse consultants have undertaken across the province alongside RCP’s medical advisors. Her encyclopedic knowledge of the perinatal care provided throughout the province, keen eye for detail, relentless work ethic, and indefatigable good humour have been essential in the survival and success of the NSAPD.

We sincerely thank Becky for her substantial contributions. They have and will continue to benefit all Nova Scotians by ensuring optimal health and well-being of mothers and their newborns.