Consumers Supporting Midwifery Care

Hello Dr. Walker, Dr. Roth, and Mr. Cove,

As a midwifery client who gave birth to my first little one in May, I’m writing to add my voice to those who have already spoken out requesting the expansion of practicing privileges for midwives, especially in the Ottawa area.

There are tremendous benefits associated with providing childbearing people with assured continuity of care throughout pregnancy, labour, and delivery. I know for me, having access to midwifery care was an exceedingly positive and ultimately life-changing experience.

Due to a rare chromosomal translocation, choosing a care provider when I found out I was pregnant was an anxiety-ridden experience for me. I was overjoyed, but had also been through extensive genetic counseling prior to becoming pregnant and understood that depending on the way the translocation presented, there was a 50% chance that the child would have severe developmental problems and a 25% chance that those problems would be so severe that the child could not survive.

Because my pregnancy was classified as high risk until the worst genetic outcomes were ruled out, I initially had a difficult time finding a care provider. I was very lucky to connect with Ola at Community Midwives of Ottawa, who not only provided top-notch medical care, but also extensive emotional support as I went through the genetic screening process, awaited the results, and mentally/emotionally prepared myself to make some very difficult decisions about the future of my family. Although it was an extremely tumultuous time in my life, I can honestly say that I have never felt as supported and empowered as I did working through it with my midwives. Luckily, the our daughter did not inherit the translocation, and I’m grateful that the people who were there throughout the uncertain times were able to share the joy/relief of getting those results and were ultimately the ones who helped usher my daughter into this crazy world.

When my daughter arrived in early May during the height of the first wave of Covid, I was fortunate to be able to have an incredible delivery experience with my care team at the Ottawa Birth Centre. Given the ongoing restrictions in place to limit the spread of the virus, both in hospital institutions and in the community at large, the promise of a trusted and familiar presence throughout my labour and delivery experience was absolutely invaluable, especially given everything we’d been through to ensure the birth of a normal, healthy baby. In addition, because of travel restrictions, my mother was not able to come to Canada for the birth of my daughter, which was terrifying for me as a first-time mom. Yet again, my midwives stepped in, not just as impeccable care providers, but also as friends and family members to give encouragement/support and to share in the joy of my daughter’s birth. This also came with the peace of mind that both of my attending midwives had hospital privileges, and if anything went awry, my preferences for continued midwifery care would be respected. Without these privileges, had anything occurred necessitating a hospital transfer, I can honestly say the lasting emotional effects of being transferred from their care would have been significant. I have nothing but respect for OBs, but my midwives legitimately changed my life.

Given that increasing numbers of pregnant people are requesting midwifery care, I humbly urge you to consider extending and expanding hospital privileges for these incredible care providers so more qualified midwives can be hired to ensure that no one is turned away.

I appreciate your attention to this urgent matter and look forward to your response.

Best regards,
Kim Lopshire-Fitton