It had all the makings of a children’s birthday party – complete with music and balloons.
But there was nothing to celebrate at the midwifery protest that took place Thursday outside the National Assembly in Quebec City.
The mothers involved want the choice of being able to give birth with a midwife outside a hospital.
“I’m a mother of three children and even if people want to think it’s a mother issue, I think it’s a family issue,” said Marie Noel Belanger Levesque.
For 12 years, midwives have been legally practising in Quebec hospitals or homes.
The Association of Quebec Midwives says there’s been resistance from doctors when it comes to creating birthing centres.
“When they know how we work, the resistance falls. But a lot of it is lack of knowledge and the government hasn’t made any promotion for midwifery,” said Claudia Faille, president of Regroupment Sage Femmes.
On Thursday, the health minister announced $1. 5 million to allow more midwives to practice in Quebec.
He also agrees any system of birthing centres should be funded 100 per cent.
Only one new birthing centre has been created in three years and the government originally promised 20 by 2017.
The health minister says they will be built- and soon.
“I want to accelerate what we are doing,” said Health Minister Yves Bolduc.
Some women are skeptical.
“We’ve heard the promises before…when Coudillard said we’d have more, we all had a party. But the party has petered out since then,” said Lysane Gagnon of “MAMAN” (Mouvement pour l’autonomie dans la maternite pour accouchment nautrel).
The Association of Quebec Midwives estimates it would cost $1 million to build a birthing centre and another $1 million to staff each one.
Father Maxime Gobeil says it’s well worth the investment.
“In the long term it would cost less and it would be great for people who want to have a natural birth for their children if they want to,” Gobeil said.
The health minister says the goal is for Quebec to have 18 birthing centres up and running by 2018.
Comments