Association of Ontario Midwives Summer 2012

Advocacy
Midwives protest planned cuts
to refugee health care
Midwives across Ontario joined other care providers and
concerned citizens on June 18 to protest cuts to the Interim
Federal Health Program, which provides temporary health
coverage to refugees and refugee claimants.
Rallies across Canada including Hamilton, Ottawa and Toronto
drew thousands who oppose the cuts that will come into
effect June 30 and leave already vulnerable populations
without access to medications to treat conditions such as
gestational diabetes, hypertension and nausea and vomiting.
A group of approximately 40 midwives attended the Toronto
rally, where midwife Manavi Handa
addressed the crowd to highlight how the
cuts will affect pregnant women.
“The proposed IFHP cuts will result in a
drastic number of women with no access to
prenatal care. Prenatal care is well-known to
be one of the most cost-effective interventions
in health care and inadequate prenatal
care will result in much sicker mothers and
babies,” Handa said.
Take action now
Midwives and supporters who wish to speak
out against the cuts can send Prime Minister
Stephen Harper and Minister of Citizenship
and Immigration Jason Kenney an e-postcard
from the OntarioMidwives.ca website.
National campaign
calls for equal access to
midwifery care
On May 5, the Canadian Association
of Midwives (CAM) kicked off their
national campaign “Choice. Access.
Midwives.” seeking midwifery care for
all Canadian women and babies.
Despite the fact that midwives
are primary care providers in
many provincial health systems,
regulated midwifery care is
currently unavailable to women
living in the Yukon, New Brunswick,
Newfoundland and Labrador and
Prince Edward Island.
Many women living in rural and
remote areas are being sent away
from their families, their support
systems and their communities weeks
before giving birth because they lack
access to obstetrical care.
And, although midwifery care has
been shown to greatly improve health
outcomes in Aboriginal communities,
the federal government is currently
unable to employ midwives on
reserves because the Treasury Board
lacks a job description for midwives.
CAM is urging all midwives and
midwifery supporters to sign an e-letter
addressed to Prime Minister Stephen
Harper, the Federal Minister of Health
and other government officials pushing
for equal access to safe, quality care for
all Canadian women.
CAM is pushing the federal
government to:
• work with and require all
provinces and territories to
legislate and fund midwifery as
part of their health care systems;
• support midwives in rural and
remote regions of Canada, to
ensure that women can stay in
their communities during the
normal and healthy process of
pregnancy and birth;
• include a job description for
midwife in the federal Treasury
Board, thereby allowing
midwifery care to become part
of direct services offered to
Aboriginal communities under
federal jurisdiction.
Though regulated in Ontario, midwifery
care is still out of reach for nearly 40% of
women who seek it here. Midwives know
the value of keeping birth close to home
and keeping birth within the community.
As the largest group of regulated
midwives in Canada, Ontario midwives
can prove valuable in voicing the need for
access to midwifery care for all.
Midwives can access the letter
campaign on the main page of the
CAM website, www.canadianmidwives.org.
Supporters are also urged to
copy the letter and send it to their MP.
www.aom.on.ca 3