An organization wants more babies delivered by the hands of midwives. The Maternity Consumers of Alberta Network says there’s a shortage of midwives across the province. Fort McMurray was one of the stops for the Network while it conducted surveys, focus groups, and interviews province wide.
“In Fort McMurray / Wood Buffalo, like many parts of Alberta, there is a baby boom which is expected to continue,” states Registered Nurse Lucie Lapierre, who is expecting her child. “We also have a shortage of caregivers and those practicing in the region are overloaded. Our system is not as supportive of the professionals working within it as it should be. This needs to change.”
The networks released a report that claims Alberta’s maternity care is in the midst of a crisis. Main author Dr. Lolly de Jonge wants Premier Jim Prentice to create a specialized team to tackle the problem.
“The team should represent urban, rural, remote, and diverse populations and be comprised of family doctors, midwives, obstetricians, nurses, lactation consultants, doulas, childbirth educators, mental health professionals, early childhood specialists, and academia. Most importantly, there should be high consumer representation (at least 25%),” she says in a news release.
The network says obstetricians specialize in high risk births, and using them for anything else is just a waste of resources. It says since midwifery became a provincially funded service five years ago, there’s been spike in the number of women interested in using a midwife.
