Contact: Maria Radonicich
Email: maria@wheresmymidwife.org
Website: www.wheresmymidwife.org
Where’s My Midwife? has set their sights on a new town. With posts on their blog and Facebook page, they asked their followers who needed help accessing midwives – residents of the Smiths Falls community answered with a resounding US!
The Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM) would like to commemorate this May 5th, the International Day of the Midwife, by calling attention to the lack of access to midwifery
“We want a commitment from government to increase access to midwifery services through legislation and funding for midwifery care in all provinces and territories, by increasing the number of midwives in all areas including rural and remote communities, and by providing support for direct midwifery services on federal jurisdictions such as on reserve.” says Ms. Anne Wilson, President of CAM.care faced by most Canadian women. CAM believes that all women in Canada deserve to access midwifery care if they choose. As part of the Muskoka Initiative, the Canadian government has pledged to reduce maternal and infant mortality globally; CAM urges the Canadian government to make good on this promise, both at home and abroad. Supporting Maternal and Child Health globally also means supporting Canadian moms and babies in their choice to access midwifery care.
Opportunity to share birth stories and contribute to the “International Library of Birth Truths”
August 10, 2009 (Ottawa) – Running concurrently with the Ottawa premiere of the play “Birth”, join the Ottawa Consumers Supporting Midwifery Care (CSMC) in the BOLD “Red Tent” – a gathering of women, telling of birth experiences and offering of resources related to childbirth in the Ottawa region, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The event takes place on Saturday, on Saturday, Aug. 15 between the matinee and evening performances of “Birth” at St. Paul’s University Atrium, 223 Main Street.
“Birth”, the staged production taking place each night at St. Paul’s Auditorium tells eight fictionalized birth stories. The CSMC “Red Tent” offers the opportunity to share our community’s own birth stories, bringing the art of the play to the reality of our community experience. Participants are encouraged to bring artwork, poetry, birth stories – any form of creative expression of the birth experience – that they would like to share. Contributions will be recorded (in film, written word or photography) and included in the BOLD “International Library of Birth Truths.”
BOLD “Red Tents” are part of an arts-based global movement to make maternity care mother-friendly. Founder Karen Brody says, “Given today’s crisis in maternity care, where one woman dies every minute due to pregnancy and childbirth-related causes, I feel it’s time to give the microphone to the mothers so they can tell the story of maternity care today.”
BOLD “Red Tent” gatherings send their findings to everyone from politians and health departments to well-known international figures in a plea to listen to mothers when it comes to maternity care options. In addition, Brody’s play “Birth” is performed around the world as a fundraiser for local groups.
Admission to the Ottawa “Red Tent” is a pay-what-you-can donation in support of the International Breech Birth Conference.
BACKGROUND INFO:
The International Breech Birth Conference is presented by the consumer advocacy group, Coalition for Breech Birth (CBB). A sliding makes this international conference exceptionally accessible to consumers. An encore of “Birth” and a scaled-down version of CSMC’s “Red Tent” will be featured at the Breech Birth Conference. Info: www.breechbirth.ca
Consumers Supporting Midwifery Care (CSMC) is a grassroots group of Ottawa area consumers advocating for midwifery and availability of birth choices to women in the region. Info: www.midwiferyconsumers.org
BOLD (Born on Labour Day) – “Red Tent” gatherings and the play “Birth” – Info: www.boldaction.org
85 000 BABIES AND COUNTING!
CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF RECOGNIZED MIDWIFERY IN ONTARIO
Ottawa midwives TO HOLD ANNUAL FAMILY PICNIC AT BRITANNIA PARK
ON SUNDAY, JUNE 7 2009.
The Ottawa area midwives are holding their annual family picnic on Sunday, June 7, from 11am to 2pm, rain or shine. The picnic brings together midwives from Ottawa area practices (The Midwifery Group of Ottawa, Sages-Femmes de Prescott-Russell, and Midwifery Collective of Ottawa), parents and children, as well as friends and supporters of midwifery. Everyone is welcome!
Bring a picnic lunch (cake will be served at the event) and join us at the Trolley Station in Britannia Park.
This year, we are celebrating 15 years of recognized midwifery in Ontario!
Midwifery became a regulated health profession in 1994. There are currently 435 Registered Midwives in Ontario, serving women and communities in 72 clinics across the province. Over 85 000 babies have been born under midwifery care since 1994, including over 20,000 births at home.
Midwives provide high quality maternity care to Ontario women and their babies. Midwives are primary care providers, and their services are fully funded by the province. According to a recent Ministry of Health evaluation, midwives have a 98% satisfaction rate: this is one of the reasons that the demand for their services is so high.
Despite recent efforts to increase the number of registered midwives, access to midwifery care in Ontario continues to be a challenge for expecting women: 4 out of 10 women wishing to deliver their babies with midwives were turned away last year. Demand for midwifery in Ontario simply outpaces the supply.
Midwives in Ontario have staff privileges in 70 hospitals, with the goal of allowing women to choose to give birth at home or in a hospital setting. Hospital privileges for midwives are a key element in providing women with real birth care choices. Increasing the number of midwives that can deliver in hospitals continues to be a challenge in the Ottawa area, as elsewhere in Ontario, with hospitals capping the number of midwives having access to their maternity wards.
Ontario needs more midwives with hospital privileges to respond to the growing need expressed by expecting women for high-quality, community-based maternity care.
Come join us on Sunday June 7 at Britannia Park to show your support or to find out more!
Contact person:
Teresa Bandrowska
Midwifery Group of Ottawa
613-729-9957
WOMEN IN OTTAWA MAY LOSE ACCESS TO MIDWIFERY CARE:
The Ottawa Hospital Set to Lower Number of Midwives with Admitting Privileges
OTTAWA – Each year there are hundreds of women whose names sit on waiting lists for midwifery care. Despite the growing demand for midwifery care in the Ottawa region, The Ottawa Hospital intends to begin lowering the number of midwives with admitting privileges at its Civic and General campuses as early as April 2004.
Cost Effective Maternity Care
The Finance Department at the General Campus of The Ottawa Hospital has stated that midwife-attended births cost the hospital an average of $442.00, while physician-attended births cost an average of $1418.00. This is because midwife-attended births do not take up valuable (and busy) nursing staff. Also, across Ontario, midwifery clients who give birth in hospital have much shorter postpartum stays (75% leave within 6 hours of delivery), saving even more on in-care. Finally, in Ottawa, over 40% of births attended by midwives took place at home, representing the greatest possible savings for the Ontario health care system and The Ottawa Hospital. Yet, despite the cost effectiveness of midwifery care, The Ottawa Hospital will not be renewing admitting privileges for 3 Ottawa midwives as of Spring/Summer 2004.
Woman and Family-Centred Maternity Care
Worldwide, 4 out of 5 babies are born into the hands of a midwife.1 In North America, midwifery is gaining in popularity as pregnant women look for health care that is responsive to their needs. The midwifery model of care is founded upon three principles:
1. Continuity of Care: Midwifery care is available to women throughout their pregnancy, labour, birth, and the first six weeks after birth. Midwives spend time developing relationships with women and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
2. Informed Choice: Women are active decision-makers in the care they receive; midwives give information to help women make informed decisions.
3. Choice of Birthplace: Midwifery clients may choose to give birth at home or in hospital. Midwives maintain hospital privileges at many Ontario hospitals and work collaboratively with other health care practitioners.
A Cochrane systematic review of ten studies involving over 60,000 women found that women who chose midwifery care were more satisfied and had the same clinical outcomes compared to women who used obstetrician/gynecologist care. 2
In 1994 Ontario became the first province to regulate and legislate midwifery. Midwifery care is completely funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Presumably this move would make it easier for women to access midwifery care. However, this new move by The Ottawa Hospital will actually limit that access.
Fewer Costly Medical Interventions
Women who give birth attended by midwives are far less likely to have costly medical interventions. Whereas the average rate of Cesarean birth at The Ottawa Hospital in 2002 was 26.4%3, the rate of Cesarean birth amongst midwifery clients was approximately 15%. Furthermore, the rate of women using epidurals at The Ottawa Hospital approaches 90%, whereas less than 30% of midwifery clients use epidurals.
Consumers Supporting Midwifery Care
Consumers Supporting Midwifery Care is an Ottawa area grassroots group of consumers advocating for increased access to midwifery care. We are a large and ever-growing group of women and men alarmed at the proposed changes that will lower the number of midwives available in Ottawa. We believe that families in Ottawa must have access to more midwives, not fewer.
Our next meeting will take place at the home of one of our members: Wednesday, November 26th, 2003 from 7-8:30pm at 2159 Saunders Avenue, Ottawa. Our website, http://www.midwiferyconsumers.org contains information on midwifery in Ottawa, upcoming meetings and events, and current campaigns to promote midwifery.
Consumers Supporting Midwifery Care says, “NO!” to the proposed changes by The Ottawa Hospital. We demand more midwives with hospital privileges, not fewer. Women in Ottawa must have the right to choose who will be the primary caregiver for their pregnancies and births.
Contact: Shannon Smith, Consumers Supporting Midwifery Care 831-6443 or cell 863-3943
info@midwiferyconsumers.org
1 Association of Ontario Midwives, www.aom.on.ca 1-866-418-3773
2 Villar J, Carroli G, Khan-Neelofur D, Piaggio G, Gülmezoglu M. (2003). Patterns of routine antenatal care for low-risk pregnancy (Cochrane Review). The Cochrane Library, Issue 4, 2003. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
3 Perinatal Partnership Program of Eastern and Southeastern Ontario – Annual Statistical Report, 2002 http://www.pppeso.on.ca/english/Statisticalreport_2002.pdf