More Alberta women will have access to midwifery services across the province, thanks to a new three-year agreement between Alberta Health Services and the Alberta Association of Midwives.
The agreement, which AHS said will be in effect until March 31 of 2022, is aimed at both increasing the number of midwives practising in the province and to expand access in small urban and rural areas, as well as Indigenous communities.
“Albertans have told us that midwifery is a preferred option for maternal and newborn care in our province,” AHS president and CEO Dr. Verna Yiu said in a release.
“We have already taken some important steps towards increasing access to midwifery care in new locations across the province. This agreement is another important step towards continuing this growth.”
Midwives provide care to mothers and babies through all stages of maternity, including prenatal, labour and delivery, as well as post-partum care.
Their scope of practice is also due to expand in April of this year, allowing them to do things like prescribe and administer drugs, as well as use ultrasounds to determine fetal positions.
AHS said the negotiations between it and the AAM will be reopened in the third year of the new agreement to review compensation for the new services that are being provided.
“We are pleased that this agreement benefits even more pregnant people,” AAM president Nicole Matheson said.
“With this agreement in place, the maternity care landscape in Alberta has shifted and enables greater integration to better support pregnant people to freely choose where, how, and with whom they birth.”