Midwives in Saskatchewan are optimistic the province will cover their service under medicare this year.
The provincial government is planning to set up an advisory committee to look into the issue, said Rosalind Lydiale, president of the Midwives Association of Saskatchewan.
While British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec pay for midwife services under the health-care system, Alberta doesn’t. Lydiale said as a result, midwives have been leaving that province.
Saskatchewan still has to determine whether it will pay for the service and finalize the professional standards.
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Lydiale, who did her midwifery training in Britain, said the closest training courses of about three years each are in Ontario and B.C. She said midwives are hoping a national standard develops for their work because “it’s silly having to do (qualifying) exams if we move to another province.”
Saskatchewan only has five midwives. Three of them are students, with Lydiale active in Saskatoon and another woman in Regina taking maternity cases. Lydiale said she had 19 clients last year and so far has eight booked for 2006.
She is paid $1,500-$1,800 for home births but less if the woman delivers her baby in a hospital setting with a doctor present.
The low number of midwives in Saskatchewan could be a problem in trying to regulate the profession. Lydiale said there has been discussion about sharing the registration process with Manitoba.
Midwifery is seen by governments as a benefit to handle labour and delivery care in northern or isolated rural areas where there are few hospitals or little experience to handle births.
