As Nova Scotia grapples with a health care crisis, the NDP says midwifery services would help take some pressure off primary care providers, with more access to prenatal, postpartum, reproductive and newborn care.
A recent Freedom of Information Request shows that in June 2022 the Houston government was on the verge of approving a midwifery education program feasibility study supported by the governments of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and PEI when the process was halted with little explanation.
“The lack of a midwifery education program in Atlantic Canada is one of the main factors affecting recruitment and retention of midwives in the region. When people have to travel across the country for education there’s no guarantee that they’ll return to the region or be able to find work in the limited system we have here,” said Jessica MacDonald, President of the Association of Nova Scotia Midwives. “We know families are looking for midwifery care and if more people were trained here and hired to work in the region we would be able to help more people during pregnancy, as well as provide increased access to well newborn care, and provide reproductive care to Nova Scotians who are in great need of these services.”
There are 16 midwifery positions in Nova Scotia in HRM, South Shore and Antigonish, but demand is high.
“There are thousands of Nova Scotians without a family doctor or primary care. For those who are pregnant or thinking about having children, that’s especiallystressful,” said NDP MLA Suzy Hansen. “If the Houston government made the investments in education and in expanding the midwifery program we could address part of the primary care crisis for those that need prenatal care.”
The NDP say the lack of an education program in Atlantic Canada, for midwifery, is one of the main reasons recruitment and retention is being affected.
