By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

Mother-to-be frustrated midwives lack privileges at Chinook Regional Hospital

Dec 9, 2018 | 6:31 PM

LETHBRIDGE – When Elaine Van Rootselaar became pregnant, she explored several options for delivery and after care in the Lethbridge area. She did some research on the countries with the lowest birth mortality rates in the world, the mothers/ families that had the best birthing experiences and the types of experiences they’d had. The common trend she found, were those mothers who experienced low-risk pregnancies and births often had midwives involved in the birthing process. 

But when she inquired into whether midwives had privileges at Chinook Regional Hospital, she found they did not. They were allowed to take part solely as those who may observe the birth or may provide emotional support. That was concerning to her, because midwives have been fully funded by the provincial government since 2009, and most hospitals in the province have allowed them privileges for years. 

In fact, as far as College of Midwives Registrar Sharon Prusky believes, Lethbridge and Grande Prairie are the only larger centres in the province that still do not allow hospital privileges for midwives. 

“I know that the college has been part of a larger process, trying to expand midwifery in the province…and so that expansion would end up including all different areas in the province.”

There are currently between 130 and 135 midwives in Alberta and Mount Royal University in Calgary offers a four-year Bachelor of Midwifery (B.Mid) program. 

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Prusky says midwives have been a big part of most maternity health services and after care around the world.

“Midwives have a special role in that they provide continuous individualized, personalized maternity care for clients from pregnancy right on through labour and birth and into the post partum period when baby is born. And they actually are primary health care providers for that specific scope of care for clients and their families.” 

However, there can be some barriers to midwives gaining access to hospitals because of bias or a professional unwillingness amongst some other health care professionals.

“Inter-professional collaboration – is if everyone is committed to that process in the system, it can be fabulous and wonderful for clients and their families in terms of the birthing process, as well as the professional that are involved. But it can be tricky as well. And people are looking at their own workloads, their own responsibilities, how they’ve done things in the past, and having a new profession come in, and figuring out how that’s all going to work. There can be some challenges for sure…it’s something midwives have faced for years.”

Lethbridge News Now contacted Alberta Health Services for an interview regarding midwifery services at CRH, but were told telephone or in-person interviews on the subject were not being conducted. We were, however, provided with a statement:

“Alberta Health Services (AHS) has midwifery services providing care in communities across the province. AHS recognizes there is significant interest in having local midwifery services available in Lethbridge and its surrounding areas. Currently within the AHS South Zone, there are seven midwives, providing services in Medicine Hat, Brooks and Cardston.

Planning is now under way to integrate midwifery services within Chinook Regional Hospital (CRH), working alongside other obstetrical teams within the facility, and we anticipate midwifery services will be incorporated within CRH’s obstetrics program during the 2019/20 fiscal year.

This implementation was delayed somewhat due to the hospital’s new wing and re-development project. Physicians and staff in labour and delivery experienced a number of changes as a result of the project, and it was decided to implement midwifery a little later to avoid too much change at one time. Planning will aim for the seamless transition and integration of midwifery services at the CRH to ensure the delivery of high quality obstetrical care.  Midwives are an important member of the obstetrical team.   

Midwifery is a priority for CRH, and we have committed to working with the midwives in the new year to get this up and running.  Midwives are primary healthcare providers and are able to offer antepartum, intrapartum (delivery) and postpartum care to Alberta families.”

Still, Van Rootselaar, who will travel to Cardston to meet with her midwife for the birth of her child, wishes that Lethbridge was not behind most other cities that offer midwifery services.

“It would be the most convenient to go to the Lethbridge hospital and meet with the midwives there and have state of the art medical equipment around me. There’s a new labour and delivery floor, and it would be great to be able to use that. But instead, I need to drive almost an hour out to Cardston.

“I feel like this is a decision being made for women in southern Alberta and I don’t understand why. Midwives are covered by the Alberta government, but there seems to be a group of people deciding that women shouldn’t have the option. And it doesn’t seem really that fair to me.”