Midwives celebrated in Regina, advocate calls for expansion of services
Julian Wotherspoon says midwives could fill the 'gaps' in remote Saskatchewan areas
People in Regina saluted midwives Sunday afternoon as part of the International Day of the Midwife.
The afternoon was to "celebrate the midwives that we have working tirelessly for us," said Regina advocate and event organizer Julian Wotherspoon.
They discussed how services could be expanded in Saskatchewan — and why they think they should be.
Wortherspoon has been a birth doula for numerous years in Regina, and had a midwife involved in her second birth. Her first son was born in 2009. That was before midwifery regulations were implemented in Saskatchewan, so she was unable to access a midwife. However, she remained interested in the service.
She "wasn't a fan" of not knowing who was going to be at the birth or the short medical appointments.
"Our care, during the pregnancy, labour, delivery, was fine. There wasn't anything, you know, incredibly negative to say about it, it just wasn't the relationship that we wanted."
She knew she wanted to feel more supported and develop a real relationship with her care provider as she prepared for her second birth.
With the use of a midwife, Wotherspoon was able to have that. Additionally, she had her family by her side and her eldest child involved in the birth. Midwives work with an interdisciplinary team to provide primary health care to women.
Midwives could fill 'gaps' in province
"Midwives are a really key piece to addressing some of the gaps in care we experience in Saskatchewan," she said.
It's difficult to implement infant and maternal services in the province because of the widespread rural populations and the diversity of the people, Wotherspoon said.
- Ontario provides $2 million to fund Aboriginal midwives
- Saskatchewan needs more midwives, people at rallies say
- Marchers say 15 midwives not enough for Sask.
She noted rural and Indigenous midwifery is important, but for many families, accessing culturally-appropriate care close to home isn't possible.
"Midwives: their model is just really well placed to address all of those challenges to providing care."
Registered midwives are currently only employed in three of 13 regional health authorities, according to the Midwives Association of Saskatchewan website.
Wotherspoon wants to see more working in the province.
"What we're really looking for is an expansion and a building upon those services," she said. "There's a lot of room and a lot of potential to grow midwifery services."