Nova Scotia midwifery students worry about job prospects
One student graduating in May says the government isn't making women's health a priority
Two Nova Scotia women in their fourth and final year of a midwifery program in Ontario are hoping to work back east after their graduation this spring, but that's looking unlikely.
There are only ten working midwives in Nova Scotia. Six of them work in Halifax for the IWK Health Centre, two are in Bridgewater, and two are in Antigonish.
"It doesn't seem as if the government is making women's health a priority — which is really, really unfortunate," said student Jennifer Nguyen. She began studying midwifery at McMaster University in 2012.
There are a lot of families here who want midwifery care- Caitlin Blennerhassatt
The province set regulations for the profession six years ago and pays the salaries and insurance for midwives.
Some women prefer a midwife to a family doctor as they feel the pre- and post-natal care can be more seamless. Under other maternity-care health models, whichever health professional is on call treats women as they go into labour.
"The midwife that you see in your pregnancy, you will see them in the labour, and the birth and the post-partum," said Nguyen.
No plans to hire more midwives
In Nova Scotia, women in the Halifax area have the option of giving birth at home with midwives, as regulations require two midwives for home births. Home birth is also an option in Bridgewater but is not as common.
Women in the Annapolis Valley and Cape Breton have no midwives, even though some have protested this over the years.
Caitlin Blennerhassatt of Pictou County is a fourth-year classmate of Nguyen's. Most of her classmates will get jobs in Ontario and B.C.
She wants to practice midwifery in Nova Scotia.
"There are a lot of families here that want midwifery care," she said.
"I think if the government would come around to that idea and understand that midwives are beneficial for people who have low-risk pregnancies and obstetricians are beneficial for high-risk pregnancies, then that would let many midwives come home."
The Nova Scotia Health Authority has no plans to expand the number of midwives working in the province.