All costs covered by your BC health care card
Professionally trained and registered midwives
• Is midwifery care
safe?
• Are midwives legal?
• Do I have to pay?
• Can I have a midwife and a doctor?
• What is the working relationship between
midwives and obstetricians?
• What experience and training do midwives
have?
• Can I have a hospital birth?
• Can I have an epidural?
• Do visits take place in my home?
• How often do I see my midwife?
• What is the difference between a midwife
and a doula?
• Is midwifery care safe?
There is a large body of evidence that supports midwifery care as a safe
choice for low-risk healthy women. Data was gathered from New Zealand, Australia,
the UK, and Holland where regulated midwifery is widely practiced in order
to justify its regulation in BC. In fact, researcher's found that women
and babies did better on average in countries where midwifery care is the
norm.
FACT: Midwifery clients experienced lower rates of forceps, vacuum extractions, cesarean sections, episiotomies, infections and babies born requiring resuscitation, in studies where midwifery care was compared to physician led care.
• Are midwives legal?
Yes, since 1998 midwifery has been regulated through the Health Professions
Act by the College of Midwives of British Columbia. The title "midwife"
is protected and its use by anyone other than a Registered Midwife is illegal.
Currently, there are approximately 130 Registered Midwives in the province.
• Do I have to pay?
In BC the Ministry of Health pays for the services of Registered Midwives.
If you are covered under the BC Medical Services Plan, all you have to do
is show your BC Care Card.
• Can I have a midwife and a doctor?
The Medical Services Plan will cover one primary care provider for the duration
of your pregnancy and birth, to six weeks postpartum. The choice of caregiver
during your pregnancy is up to you. Midwives are experts in healthy pregnancy,
normal birth and well babies. Midwives will consult with family physicians,
anesthetists, obstetricians and pediatricians should the need arise and,
of course, you are welcome to see your family physician at any time for
non-pregnancy related issues. About six weeks post-partum, your care is
transferred back to your family physician who will resume responsibility
for the health of you and your new baby.
• What is the working relationship
between midwives and obstetricians
Midwives consult with family doctors, obstetricians, pediatricians and/or
other specialists if situations arise that fall outside the Midwife's scope
of practice. Midwives have clear indications of when to consult and when
to transfer care during pregnancy, birth and post-partum as set out by the
College of Midwives of BC. This information is made available to every woman
who chooses a midwife as part of the fundamental principle of midwifery
care: informed choice.
• What experience and training do
midwives have?
This varies. Ask the midwife, she will be happy to share her background
and experience with you. All Registered Midwives in BC, regardless of their
educational backgrounds, have demonstrated a high level of competency as
required by the College of Midwives of BC through rigorous written, clinical
and oral examinations.
• Can I have a hospital birth?
The Model of Midwifery Care in BC requires that midwives follow women to
their choice of birthplace. Women under the care of midwives may choose
to deliver either in hospital or at home. Your midwife will discuss place
of birth with you during your visits with her and will help you choose the
birthplace most appropriate for you.
• Can I have an epidural?
The appropriate use of a range of natural and pharmaceutical pain relief
options, including epidurals, is part of the midwifery scope of care. Paramount
in midwifery practice is that women feel respected and supported so that
they are able to give birth safely, with power and dignity.
• Do visits take place in
my home?
Most of your visits will take place in a clinic setting. Occasionally, if
a client is ill or otherwise unable to attend a clinic visit, a home visit
may be scheduled in the antenatal period. Home visits are also done for
early labor assessment, to attend a woman who is choosing to labor at home
before transferring to the hospital and, of course, for those women choosing
to deliver at home. Following your delivery, regardless of place of birth,
midwives provide excellent post partum support and care through a schedule
of home visits in the first weeks following the birth. Subsequent visits
take place at the clinic, and at six weeks postpartum your care will be
transferred back to your family physician. If you do not have a family physician
we will help you to find one.
• How often do I see my
midwife?
Midwifery visit schedules vary among practice groups, but usually visits
are begun when pregnancy is confirmed and end when the baby is six weeks
of age. Visits every three to five weeks for the first and second trimester
are typical. By 30 weeks gestation most midwives begin visiting with their
clients every two to three weeks and weekly after 36 weeks until the birth.
Visits are usually 30 to 60 minutes long, allowing your midwife to assess
your physical health, allow time for informed decision making, and to determine
how well you are doing emotionally and psychologically. Between visits there
is a midwife on call 24 hours a day that you may telephone with concerns.
• What is the difference
between a midwife and a doula?
Doulas do not provide medical care, and do not deliver babies. Midwives
are trained to provide all necessary medical care and ensure the health
and well-being of you and your baby. Doulas work as a part of the team,
with a midwife or doctor and nurse. Doulas provide continuous emotional
and physical support to the labouring woman and her partner, and are a positive
addition to the birth team for those couples who desire extra support. There
is good evidence demonstrating that the presence of a doula decreases a
laboring woman's need for pain medication and improves outcomes.