Fall 2010 - Association of Ontario Midwives

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Consumer ResourcesNew breastfeedingbook, postersThe Womanly Art of Breastfeedingis a staple in manymidwifery clinics’ client lendinglibraries.First published over 50 yearsago as a booklet, the publicationhas grown with La LecheLeague International to be oneof the world’s leading authoritieson breastfeeding.A brand-new edition is nowavailable. Written by Canadianauthor and breastfeedingexpert Teresa Pitman, the 2010version includes technical informationalong with mothers’stories and handy tear-sheets.Ontario government introduces expanded online newbornregistration serviceWith just a few clicks, Ontario parentscan now apply online for child benefitprograms, including the Ontario ChildBenefit, when they register theirnewborns.In partnership with the Canada RevenueAgency and Service Canada, theServiceOntario website has expandedits Newborn Registration Serviceapplication. This online service nowprovides a quick, easy and secure way forparents to register their newborn, applyfor a birth certificate, a Social InsuranceNumber Card and Canada Child Benefits.This expanded service lets parentscombine four separate applications intoone easy-to-use online process from thecomfort of their home. No waiting inline and faster processing times makesit easier for busy new parents to crossanother thing off their to-do list.Ligue La Leche, the Quebecdivision, has a new series ofbreastfeeding posters for salein English and French.Order here: www.allaitement.ca/produits/affiches.phpCanadian PaediatricSociety calls for milk banksPasteurized human milk is arecommended alternative forhospitalized sick newborns when theirown mother’s milk is not available,according to a new statement by theCanadian Paediatric Society. Thestatement, published in the Novemberissue of Paediatrics & Child Health,says that human milk banking inCanada should be encouraged andpromoted.“The most vulnerable babies shouldreceive human milk,” said Dr.Sharon Unger, principal author ofthe statement and member of theCPS Nutrition and GastroenterologyCommittee. “Only about half of themothers of these babies will have anadequate milk supply, sometimesbecause they are sick themselves, ordue to the stress of having a very sickbaby or from being separated fromtheir baby.”Yet the supply of donor breastmilk in Canada is limited. The onlyhuman milk bank in Canada, based inVancouver, can’t meet the needs of allbabies who could benefit.The statement recommends strictcontrols on how and when humandonor milk should be used. It alsorecommends continued research intothe benefits of banked human breastmilk for preterm infants in the NICU.To access the full statement, visit:www.cps.ca8 ontario midwife • Fall 2010
Research / Government InitiativesEileen Hutton, RM, PhD, recently accepted a five-year, endowed professorship at Vrije University in Amsterdam in theMidwifery Science Division, the first midwife to ever carry the title “Professor” in the Netherlands.Midwife-researcher appointed to Dutch professorshipThough Ontario has borrowed much fromthe Dutch model of midwifery care, it isnow our turn to give back.This past summer, Eileen Hutton, RM,PhD accepted a five-year, endowedprofessorship at Vrije University inAmsterdam in the Midwifery ScienceDivision. Hutton is the first midwife toever hold a professorship role in theNetherlands, as most midwifery educatorsthere hold a lecturer title.“I think someone from Canada iswell-suited to move into that positionsince our model is so highly influencedby their model,” Hutton said. “It is veryfitting that we borrowed from them andare now contributing to their programs.”She will continue with her role asassistant dean of the Midwifery ofEducation Program at McMasterUniversity, where her researchbackground is already a valuable asset.In addition to her bachelor in nursing,master’s in parent child nursing andmidwifery degree, Hutton holds a PhD inclinical epidemiology – the study of healthpatterns amongst populations.Her research work has garnered herseveral awards, including the MichaelSmith Foundation for Health ResearchCareer Scholar award, the CanadianInstitutes of Health Research NewInvestigator Award as well as the Societyof Obstetricians and Gynaecologists ofCanada Western Regional Award.Hutton has been a coauthor in at least 10academic research papers investigatingtopics such as home birth, sterile waterinjections to treat pain, external cephalicversion, breech birth and late versus earlycord clamping. Her research focuses onclinical trial methodology and knowledgetranslation.For the Dutch professorship, Hutton willbe mainly working with other professorsand academics from a research point ofview, rather than in a traditional teachingposition. She sees the role as beingtransitional and hopes that after her termis up, there will be Dutch midwives whowill be able to move into the position.She currently plans to travel to theNetherlands several times a year.Hutton’s new role as the Vrije head of themidwifery sciences department evolvedover time. Three years ago she visitedthe university to learn more about theirresearch and research units.Following this came the idea that Huttoncould take on the duties of a visitingprofessor, which eventually developedinto the current professorship role. Huttonthinks it is a good fit for both Canadaand the Netherlands. While the Dutchinstitute will make use of her expertise todevelop its research capacity, Hutton andother researchers will benefit from thecountry’s longer history of midwifery careMidwives support NursePractitioner scope reviewThis summer, the provincialgovernment announcedconsiderations to expand the roleof nurse practitioners by allowingthem to admit, discharge andtransfer patients in-hospital andannounced a public consultationlooking into how patients wouldbenefit from these changes.The AOM took the opportunityto submit a letter of support,highlighting lessons learned fromthe integration of midwives intohospitals.When midwives gained hospitalprivileges with regulation, ittranslated into benefits for bothhospitals and patients – midwiferyclients are known to havesignificantly shorter hospital staysand lower rates of readmission.Nurse practitioners with a greaterrange of responsibility in hospitalscould result in similar benefits.The government is now reviewingfeedback it received in theconsultation process and plans tomeet with individual stakeholdersthroughout the fall.When Bill 179 was passed lastDecember, nurse practitioners’ roleswere expanded to allow them tocommunicate diagnoses to patients,to perform procedures below thedermis and to order X-rays withoutrestrictions, among other things.The new push from governmentto expand the role of nursepractitioners is part of the FamilyHealth Care for All Strategy – whichaims to address patients who donot have a primary care provider– and comes in advance of theexpected opening of 25 nursepractitioner-led clinics in Ontario in2012.and rich study population.“Access to a country where midwifery isthe norm and where large numbers ofwomen receive midwifery care – alongwith building collegial relationships – willhave benefit to us as well,” Hutton said.www.aom.on.ca09
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Fall 2010 - Association of Ontario Midwives

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