SASKATOON — To Maureen Blaeser of Tramping Lake, Sask., it would have made a big difference having a registered midwife around when one of her children was born.
That’s why she put forward a motion, which passed at the Saskatchewan Agricultural Women’s Network annual winter convention, encouraging the government to certify and promote midwifery.
Blaeser says certified midwives provide another option allowing mothers to have their babies at home.
“It gives parents the choice,” said Blaeser. Although doctors and nurses are also necessary, a registered midwife would be one more trained person who could give support before and after birth.
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But action may take some time.
“The minister has agreed to establish a committee to examine the situation,” said Lynn Minja of Saskatchewan Health. Friends of the Midwives, a provincial group, has been lobbying for certification and has been asked to help form terms of reference for the committee. Minja said one of the biggest jobs will be determining implications for the province’s health-care needs and finances.
In Ontario the work has already been done. That province now has about 60 certified midwives with more on the way from the four-year degree program.
Margaret Anne McHugh, co-ordinator of the program for the Ontario ministry of health, said developing the program took a long time but there was public support.
Over 3,000 women were cared for by midwives in Ontario last year, including 1,500 at home births.
Both clinical and academic training
Midwives can take care of prenatal, hospital or home delivery, and post-partum care. The degree program consists of 50 percent clinical and 50 percent academic study. As long as the birth is normal with no complications, the midwife can be the main caregiver at the birth.
While not illegal prior to licensing, midwives were not considered part of the health care program. The Ontario College of Midwives now acts as the regulatory body.
In Alberta a draft has been developed and sent to stakeholders in the issue. It elaborates on what kind of education, competency, skill levels and knowledge are needed and how the service will fit within the health care system.
“We’re at a very important stage right now,”said Dan Charlton, chair of the Midwifery Regulation Advisory Committee in Alberta. “No time line has been set for the legalization because we have to allow two to three months for those involved to respond to this complex issue. Public pressure from consumers and midwives led to program development in that province.
And in Manitoba, midwifery is one of three reports prepared by an obstetrical committee encompassing services in rural and urban areas.
Health minister Jim McCrae has seen the reports and passed them to his government officials for review. Once the review has been complete, McCrae will make the final decision. Issues include how midwifery services will fit into obstetrical services, both financially and practically.
