What is Midwife

A mentoring relationship is one in which an experienced person or mentor supports a less experienced person or mentee. E-mentoring is an alternative to traditional face-to-face mentoring incorporating the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC). Currently, e-mentoring is not commonly practiced by New Zealand midwives; however there is some interest in its potential especially as it may overcome geographical isolation which increases access to mentors. This chapter will describe the experiences of one New Zealand midwife who mentored two new graduate midwives in 2006 using a secure storeand- forward e-mail system. This chapter explores how CMC was utilized to facilitate the elements of the mentor’s role as well as reports on the experiences of the mentor and mentee.