Dear Minister,

The Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM) would like to call your attention to the lack of access to midwifery care faced by most Canadian women. I believe that all women in Canada deserve to access midwifery care if they choose. As part of the Muskoka Initiative, the Canadian government has pledged to reduce maternal and infant mortality globally; now is the time to make good on this promise, both at home and abroad. Supporting Maternal and Child Health globally means supporting Canadian moms and babies by ensuring they have the opportunity to choose midwifery care.

I urge the Canadian government

• to work with and require all Provinces and Territories to legislate and fund midwifery as part of their health care systems;


• to support midwives in rural and remote regions of Canada, to ensure that women can stay in their communities during the normal and healthy process of pregnancy and birth;


• to include a job description for midwife in the Federal Treasury Board, thereby allowing midwifery care to become part of direct services offered to Aboriginal communities under federal jurisdiction.

Together, these changes will help reduce costs for the health care system, while allowing all women to have the Choice to Access Midwifery Care.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Some important facts:

• Midwives are primary health care providers who work as part of the health care system in most provinces and territories. They provide care to women during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period.


• Aboriginal women and their infants have a two to four times higher morbidity and mortality rate than the average Canadian. While midwifery has been shown to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal communities, the federal government provides little support for direct midwifery services on reserve. Indeed, there is no job description of midwife (as there is for doctor and nurse) within the Federal Treasury Board, thereby making it impossible for the federal government to employ midwives. All Aboriginal communities deserve the right to choose midwifery care.


• 100% of women in the Yukon, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick are unable to access regulated midwifery care because these provinces have either not yet legislated the profession or have not provided adequate support for the regulation and funding of the profession as part of the health care system.


• Women in remote areas often must leave their community for weeks before birth. The disruption of social networks at this important time is detrimental to the health of women, their families and their communities. Midwifery care is a safe and cost effective solution that can be applied in rural and remote regions to bring birth as close to home as possible.