We need midwives who are unapologetically anti-racist
Date: February 25, 2021
The recent MANA President’s Report by Sarita Bennett, President of the Midwives Alliance of North America, was incredibly troubling and painful to read. In it, Bennett recounts her experience of providing health care as a rural emergency room physician to a community of white supremacists, during which she “learned about their lives, mindsets, ideologies and plans, not so much as individuals, because that wasn’t important to them – but rather, about what it meant to live the neo-Nazi doctrine.” The post was particularly hurtful and re-traumatizing to many Indigenous, Black and racialized midwives and birth workers who continually navigate through various forms of racism and oppression at great cost to the integrity of their personal well-being, and to their time that could be used to further other work.
Black History Month (2021)
Date: February 3, 2021
We recognize February as Black History Month, both as an important national action towards reparations for historic and ongoing racial injustice, erasure and oppression, and also to pay homage to Black excellence and contributions over the centuries. Yet it is even more imperative that such ac…
Self-determination is the key to improved outcomes in midwifery care within Toronto’s Indigenous community
Date: January 29, 2021
“If our community asks for it, then I will do it.” This is commitment. The commitment Métis midwife Cheryllee Bourgeois has made to the Indigenous community. Indigenous midwives, up until the medicalization of birth in the 1950s, had been providing care to pregnant people and catching babies …
Reflecting on home birth in Ontario following Netflix release of _Pieces of a Woman_
Date: January 7, 2021
The subject of out-of-hospital birth has garnered a fair share of attention in the past several months, with midwives in Ontario and across Canada reporting a marked increase in client interest in home birth amidst concerns over COVID-19. Today’s launch of the dramatic new Netflix drama _Pieces of a Woman_ has home birth in the spotlight again...
Midwifery data matters
Date: January 5, 2021
Imagine you are investigating the rates of vaginal deliveries for midwifery clients in Ontario. As a midwife, you may be interested in comparing your own individual statistics to the midwifery provincial average. Or, you may be conducting research aimed at improving birth outcomes. The BORN Information System (BIS) would be an excellent place to begin your data collection. But only if the relevant data has been acknowledged.
AOM's January 2019 – June 2020 Report
Date: November 4, 2020
Our January 2019 – June 2020 Report summarizes milestones and achievements of the Association of Ontario Midwives over an 18-month period. Read it here. (PDF, 2.9 MB)
A champion for the people: honouring Elder Dorothy Wynne
Date: October 20, 2020
*Image courtesy of Ontario Native Women's Association (ONWA) Elder Dorothy Wynne recently passed into the spirit world. We humbly share this post in honour of her life and her tireless work on behalf of Indigenous people, including midwives, within this province. This piece was or…
Ontario midwives lead AOM CPG updates
Date: October 6, 2020
Since 2009, the AOM has developed Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) to translate scientific research on pregnancy, birth and early infant health into clinical recommendations for midwives. CPGs are a key way to facilitate evidence-based practice and aim to improve the quality and safety of midwif…
Midwifery research grants: opportunities to improve perinatal care one research project at a time
Date: September 2, 2020
Erica Elderhorst BHSc, MSc, RM, is a Registered Midwife in Southern Ontario. She began practicing midwifery in 2016 after graduating from the Midwifery Education Program (MEP) at McMaster University. She is a fellow at the McMaster Midwifery Research Centre and has just completed her MS…
"In their full power": Long-awaited comfort arrives in Attawapiskat
Date: June 23, 2020
Christine Roy, a French midwife with Abenaki roots, heads up Neepeeshowan Midwives. The practice is the only one on the James Bay coast in Attawapiskat, a little over 1200 kilometres north of the city of Toronto. If you Google the directions to Attawapiskat on your smartphone, the app will indicate that there is no way to get there. Of course, there is. The journey will take planes, trains and automobiles. It is a definite challenge to live in the north, as well as to run a midwifery practice in the remote fly-in community.