03/03/2021
If you're someone who wants women to have access to midwives in NB, here's the biggest chance we'll get for at least another 6 years.
ATTENTION NEW BRUNSWICKER'S
WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD AND ADDRESS THE LACK OF AVAILABLE MIDWIFERY SERVICES ACROSS THIS PROVINCE.
PLEASE CLICK THE GOOGLE DRIVE LINK BELOW, READ, AND SEND AN EMAIL ASAP! THIS IS OUR BEST SHOT AND WE NEED TO BE LOUD.
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Thank you all for your continued support and advocacy for midwives in New Brunswick. We appreciate the effort you have contributed towards NB Families for Midwives and we are asking once again for your voice as we continue to advance midwifery within our province.
You may be aware that the government is in the process of developing their health plan for the upcoming 6 years. As part of this process, they have released a discussion paper (attached to this email) to allow the public to weigh in on what will become part of the 6 year health plan. We were disappointed to see that midwifery was left out of this document, especially considering that primary care is identified as a priority area, and midwives play such a crucial role as primary care providers. In addition to the release of this discussion paper, government is also hosting open zoom meetings in different jurisdictions around New Brunswick where individuals and groups can attend and advocate for priorities they feel should be included in our health plan.
We wanted to let you know that NB Families for Midwives have been in attendance at a meeting that is specifically examining womxn’s health, where we will be advocating for inclusion of midwifery in the 6 year plan. To bolster our efforts, we ask that you also attend the virtual meetings in your area and voice your desire to see midwifery included in our new health plan. We understand that you all live rich, full lives, and should attending a meeting not be available to you, we ask that you perhaps send an email to [email protected] stating your wish to see midwifery included in New Brunswick’s health plan.
The messages that we at NB Families for Midwives will be sharing at these meetings are:
- Midwives are essential primary care providers. Not only do these professionals provide perinatal care throughout the continuum of pregnancy, birth and postpartum, they are also qualified to provide routine well womxn care. If primary care is on the docket to be addressed, it would be an egregious missed opportunity to exclude midwifery from this discussion.
- Well documented research has demonstrated that midwifery represents a cost savings to government. If we are truly considering creating a financially sustainable health plan, we must take advantage of the economic value midwifery offers.
- A choice of provider is an essential tenant of birthing tights that New Brunswick parents have frankly been denied. New Brunswick is well behind in terms of honouring the autonomy of birthing patients in this regard, and if we are to be an equitable province, honouring birth rights is essential.
- The level of care that can be provided by midwives prevents robust risk mitigation strategies for New Brunswick. Midwives are well equipped to work in low resource settings that may prevent greater risk to birthing parents and the health care system at large.
The continuity of care offered by midwives provides excellent long term outcomes and satisfaction with care. This can be essential when considering addressing current health concerns and preventing them from arising.
***We have attached the full document and the Letter to Minister Shephard here in this Google Drive Folder. Please consider taking a moment to send the email provided and give New Brunswick a chance to reform Maternal Health Care.***
If you are unable to access these documents because you do not have a Google Account, please send this page a private message with your email address and we will forward you the documents.
Thank you for your help!
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tyCuExruBOy7yaJcB7jbD9TmWU_SE6DG?usp=sharing
***If you are bilingual and willing to help us translate these documents, we would greatly appreciate your help!
