More Families Look to Midwives...

Last week at our midwife appointment, we were interviewed by local Banff Crag and Canyon reporter, Larissa Barlow, about our decision to use a midwife. I had emailed Larissa to ask her if she would be interested in writing a story that coincided with the Alberta Government starting to cover the service as of April 1st, 2009. She came to the home clinic of our midwife, Mireille Caron, whom we are so happy to be working with. The article came out in the paper yesterday, and is also on their website, which is nice because they only feature a selection of their articles on the site. I will post the whole article below, since this link to the website may becoming inactive over time...

To read some of my other blog posts about midwifery click here, here, or here...

More families look to midwives
Posted By Larissa Barlow


Larissa Barlow/Banff Crag & Canyon. Midwife Mireille Caron, left, with Tiffany Teske, her husband Andre Quenneville and daughter Quinlyn. Midwifery officially became a publicly funded service in Alberta on April 1.

By Larissa Barlow
Larissa@thecrag.a

Last Wednesday was a day to celebrate for expectant moms.

Midwifery officially became a publicly funded service on April 1, giving parents the option of choosing a midwife without having to bear the brunt of the expenses – something that can average around $3,500.

A milestone for women and their families in Alberta, the funding kick-in comes nearly a year after Bow Valley residents protested in a province-wide demonstration against the lack of midwife funding.

Banffite Tiffany Teske was part of that protest, wanting to see the service covered so she and others could enjoy the benefits of having a midwife without breaking the bank.

Teske and husband Andre Quenneville had their first child, Quinlyn, at a birthing centre in Quebec with the aid of a midwife.

After moving to Alberta, they were surprised to see midwifery wasn’t a publicly funded service. The couple planned on having more children, and they wanted to have a midwife after the positive experience they’d had in Quebec.

“I don’t like hospitals and I would just like to avoid them,” Teske said. “I don’t see being pregnant as being a pathology.”

Teske said she liked the familiar feeling of having a midwife guide her through her pregnancy, and it made a world of difference when in labour to have someone there that understood her desire to have a natural birth.

“I wanted to be listened to and be respected and do this myself, but obviously with someone there that had experience dealing with births,” she said.

When she became pregnant again the reality was they would have to pay for a midwife. But less than a month after the couple found out they would be having another child, the provincial government announced $4 million in new funding for midwifery with additional support from the Alberta Health Services, giving a total of approximately $4.7 million to fund the service. Now Teske, due June 7, will be having a home birth with Canmore-based midwife Mireille Caron.

“It’s a safe choice with trained people to help you,” Teske said. “I’d rather be at home for this, and I feel great about that choice.”

Quenneville said from his perspective, having a midwife was an eye opening experience that helped him learn a lot and be at ease.

“I felt comfortable the first time and I feel very comfortable now,” he said.

Caron, who is the only practicing, registered midwife in the Bow Valley, said it’s that comfort, as well as trust and confidence, that people seek when choosing a midwife.

She said it’s an option for women with low risk pregnancies that want to feel that extra support they can provide.

“It’s very family oriented. I try to make it warm and give the feeling of group support,” she said. “The experience people are looking for is different.”

Caron is having another midwife join her practice in September, but now that the service is publicly funded, she said it will be in greater demand than it is now.

“They have to book as soon as they know they’re pregnant. I’m getting calls from women in the city because they’re so packed,” she said.

Caron is already tightly booked, but she said she tries to give preference to Bow Valley women.

With the increase of women seeking a midwife, Caron expects there will be an increase of people becoming midwives.

“There’s going to be a big change within the next year for sure,” Caron said.

For Teske, having a midwife was the preferred option all along, and now that it’s funded, it makes the process that much easier.

“You have such a close relationship with a midwife,” she said. “I’ve never had that with a doctor.”

Oh My Goodness, I am 8 1/2 weeks!

My calculations were just a wee bit off, I thought I was only 6 1/2 weeks pregnant, although, I had not actually sat down with a calendar to plot it out. I wanted to wait for my first midwife appointment. Yes, I am still pinching myself, because about two weeks ago, Alberta Health announced they will begin to cover midwifery care in on April 1st, 2009! This is AMAZING news and something I have been hoping for since we moved to Alberta when our daughter was 7 months old. We had Quin in a birthing centre, in Gatineau, Quebec, with a wonderful midwives Johanne and Christine. It was such a good experience, something I will never forget, and something both Andre and I were so happy with we wanted to do it again. Midwives are well trained, generous women, who save on medical costs while providing a healthy woman who is having a routine pregnancy with a less medicalized, more personalized experience.

Here is Midwifery Philosophy of the Alberta Association of Midwives:
The practice of midwifery is based on the understanding that pregnancy, labour and birth are profound experiences which carry significant meaning for a woman, her family and her community. Midwifery is grounded in the belief that having a baby is a natural life process and an opportunity for considerable growth. The intent of midwifery care is to enhance these life experience.

Midwifery is traditionally holistic, combining an understanding of the social, emotional, cultural, spiritual, psychological and physical aspects of a woman's reproductive experience. Midwives promote wellness in women, babies and families both autonomously and in collaboration with other health care professionals.

Midwifery is a partnership between a midwife, woman and her family which is based on mutual respect. The women is the center of the childbirth experience and a great influence on the health and well-being of herself and her baby.

I am blessed to have Mireille Caron, of Canmore, as my midwife. We had our first meeting with her tonight and I am so excited not only to be pregnant but to once again be under the care of a midwife. She said our babe is due around June 7th, 2009 :)

To read more on the funding of midwives in Alberta go to the Alberta Health site.

Funding for Alberta Midwives NOW

Today, Andre, Quin, & I went to Calgary to participate in a protest. Actually I would call it more of a rally. It was an event to protest the lack of funding for midwives in Alberta. I have always secretly wanted to be an activist, and this was my kind of rally, upbeat and positive.



I read about it in the local Banff weekly, The Crag and Canyon. May 6th is the International Day of the Midwife. A local woman, named Ulrike, planned this rally because she had her first child with the help of a midwife, in German, at no cost. Much like us, when she moved to Banff, she found out it would cost $3,250 to work with a midwife. She had her second child in Banff, at the Mineral Springs Hospital, with a doctor.



We had our daughter in Quebec, at a birthing centre, with two lovely midwives, at no cost, and it was the best experience we could ever hope for. Throw in on of my best friends, who was not only our doula but who was our chiropractor, and it was more than we could have ever dreamed. We moved to Alberta, the richest province in Canada, and found out that not only would we have to pay $44 a month, each, for our health care, but that if we wanted a midwife it would cost us over $3,000. Alberta is the only province in Canada that regulates midwives but doesn’t fund their practice. It is ridiculous when it has been proven that midwives save the province money, while providing women and men a safe, nature alternative to what has become the traditional, over medicalized North America way of birth.



These issues are something we are familiar with and are close to our heart. We are willing to pay the out of pocket cost if we have a second child because we believe in midwives. However, we would like to see the government fund this. In order for that to happen, in order to make a change, our voices need to be heard. I was thrilled when Andre read the same article, pointed it out to me, and said we should go to this rally. It is important that we be there. And if Ulrike, can arrange this whole event, while breastfeeding her 1 month old son, then we could certainly be there.



It was well attended by both the media and the public, the weather held out and even got sunny at the end. We marched once around the block, and I got extremely emotional, seeing all these people coming together to make their voices and beliefs heard. I will never forget it. Quin seemed quite happy to be there, she even commendeared someone's sign and held it for a long time. I think it was the flowers ;)