Midwives Mushrooming Across the Country

There are now legislated midwives in all provinces & territories with the exception of Yukon, Newfoundland and PEI!

The Canadian Association of Midwives' 8th annual General meeting, Conference & Exhibit hosted by Le Regroupement des sages-femmes du Québec was held in Québec City from November 12th-14th. Sages-femmes: Présence & Leadership reunited midwives from across Canada and the international community, to share knowledge, current research, and to celebrate our successes.

These were the highlights of the conference: the recognition by l'Ordre des sages-femmes du Québec to grant full registration to qualified Inuit Midwives trained in their own communities (Puvirnituq, Salluit, Inuulitsivik); support from the CAM to form a national Aboriginal Midwives Council; the announcement that thirteen new "maison de naissance" will be opened in Québec; a recent election of a Canadian Midwife to the International Confederation of Midwives presidency, putting Canadian midwifery on the world map.

In Ontario, the Ministry of Health is hoping to double the number of midwives over the next five years with the expansion of Ontario university midwifery programs to admit 50% more students. Currently, approximately 450 midwives are registered and working in the province. Midwives in Ontario attend eight percent of the total number of births. The Association of Ontario Midwives (AOM) has been working hard with the help of the Ontario Hospital Association and the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) to integrate midwives into our hospitals. As part of a communication campaign, the AOM will be distributing brochures, postcards and posters to consumers, potential consumers, family practitioners, health clinics and other health care providers to educate them and their patients about midwifery care in Ontario.

Midwifery's rapid growth or "mushrooming" within the health care system as the experts of normal, healthy birth is quite remarkable. Looking back, this tremendous work would not have been possible without the support from women and families who believe in midwives. We call on you to be advocates and guides through the pushing stage of midwifery growth.

For more information, please visit the following websites:

• Consumers Supporting Midwifery Care: www.midwiferyconsumers.org 
• Canadian Association of Midwives: www.canadianmidwives.org
• Association of Ontario Midwives: www.aom.on.ca
• College of Midwives of Ontario: www.cmo.on.ca 

Midwifery Education Program:

• Ryerson University: www.ryerson.ca/~midwife 
• McMaster University: www.fhs.mcmaster.ca/midwifery
• Laurentian University: http://midwifery.laurentian.ca