Provincial health care expands to include services

The province announced last week it would expand its publicly-funded health care coverage to include midwife services, a move the Alberta Association of Midwives calls “the last piece of the puzzle.”

President Jane Baker said the change has been long-awaited, after the province installed a registration system about ten years ago, as well as a bridging program to bring foreign-trained midwives into Alberta. 

“They’ve been in discussions for a long time,” Baker said. “For me it’s important because it offers more choice to the families I serve, knowing this type of care is important to them.”

The change will come into effect April 1, 2009.

Midwives are specialists in low-risk pregnancies, she said, and are typically less busy than family doctors so can offer more focus on an expectant mother. Midwives are also the only registered professionals willing to do out-of-hospital births. “This will hopefully break down barriers,” she said.

One midwife can also stand in for a number of care-givers, Baker said. “We replace the family doctor, the obstetrician, (women in labour) have to go in and see the triage nurse, then a labour and delivery nurse, then cared for in postpartum then visited by a public health nurse,” she said. “With a midwife, it’s a continuity of care.”

Lorna Chisholm, community health services manager at Seton Hospital, said she feels the change is a step in the right direction, especially for someone trained in England like she was. 

“Midwives are part and parcel of everyday practice in the United Kingdom,” Chisholm said. “Certainly they do fine work... and they’re very knowledgeable. There’s certainly loads to be gained.”

According to a statement from the province, the Alberta Health Services Board in conjunction with Alberta Health and Wellness and the Alberta Association of Midwives will develop a structure that provides full midwifery services to all Alberta women with low-risk pregnancies. 

This service will emphasize various options for expectant mothers; foster collaboration between midwives, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals; and create a sustainable model for the future.

As of Sept. 1 2007, there were 31 registered midwives and six student midwives in the province. Alberta is one of the last provinces to publicly fund their services, with the  exceptions of Yukon Territory and Prince Edward Island.

Howard May, spokesperson for Alberta Health and Wellness, called the change a “natural progression” and said the province took into account what other provinces have done. He said covering the services would mean more choice and a reduction in financial burden for the women seeking them.