Louise Racine Bastarche, CNM, longtime midwife at Tobey Hospital, was recently awarded the Healthy Children Project, Inc.’s Omega Award, which celebrates significant achievement in protecting and promoting the health and well-being of women and children.

“We present the Omega Award to passionate, dedicated individuals whose ideas and actions give voice to the voiceless, empower the powerless, and whose extraordinary commitment ennobles us all,” said Kajsa Brimdyr, PhD, CLC, faculty member of the Healthy Children Project, Inc., a non-profit research and educational institution dedicated to improving child health outcomes. “We are thrilled to be honoring Louise, who provides such a humble and vital service to so many women.”

Bastarche received the award at the Healthy Children’s Project annual gala, "Decent Exposure: An Uplifting Evening Celebrating the Secret Lives of Breasts", an event promoting the health of women and infants and the awareness of the “coolness of breastfeeding.” The event was held the evening of Sept. 11 at the Cotuit Center for the Arts in Cotuit, Mass. Dr. Ann-Marie Widstrom, international researcher, was also honored.

The award has been presented to two people annually since 2013. Past winners include Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray (2013); Judy Norsigian, co-author of Our Bodies, Ourselves (2013); Jill Tarule, co-author of Women's Ways of Knowing (2014); and Jeanne Driscoll, co-author of Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders (2014).