Midwives are there for Ontarians during labour: This Labour Day, support the work of midwives

Media release

TORONTO: Midwives give babies and their families the best possible start – highly skilled care, excellent outcomes, the comprehensive information needed to make informed choices, and 24-7 access to care, support and encouragement in some of life’s most challenging moments. Last year, midwives provided care to over 28 000 families in Ontario – more than 20% of all births in the province.

Unfortunately, midwives are suffering from higher-than-ever rates of burnout related to their unrelenting work without sufficient resources. The intense impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all front-line health workers made matters worse, with unprecedented rates of midwives leaving the profession. Current strains on the health-care system have led to deteriorating working conditions and a decreasing midwifery work force, placing additional demands on the midwives who remain in practice. The burden of a shrinking workforce is one factor for the increasing rates of anxiety, depression, and vicarious trauma driving midwives to go on leaves or to permanently quit the profession.

“We know that if midwives were as valued by the Ontario government and the health system as they are by their clients, satisfaction in their work would soar, keeping midwives from leaving the profession,” explains Elizabeth Brandeis, registered midwife and Director of Government, Labour and Public Relations at the Association of Ontario Midwives (AOM).

The AOM is tackling the issue of sustainability by advocating for system-wide changes to the ways midwives work and how that work is valued. Midwives are calling for more innovative models of work to meet their needs at various life stages and circumstances and to serve the needs of their communities. One way the AOM is working to keep midwives in the profession is by advocating for their labour rights. This includes working to end gender discrimination on midwives’ compensation and improving working conditions, so midwives have access to disability accommodation and support to return to work following a medical leave.

“Now is the time to invest in midwives. We have seen an exodus from the profession that is unparalleled, from midwives in their first few years of practice to seasoned, experienced midwives. The skills and experience of all these midwives must be retained and valued,” says Brandeis.

Concrete systemic changes and investments are needed to heal the health-care work force, including midwives. A call for support of the retention and well-being of Ontario’s skilled yet beleaguered midwives, as they attend thousands of labours in Ontario, is worth amplifying on this Labour Day.

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AOM will arrange interviews on request. Contact Elizabeth Brandeis, Director, Government, Labour & Public Relations, at elizabeth.brandeis@aom.on.ca or (416) 568-4595.

About the Association of Ontario Midwives:

The AOM advances the clinical and professional practice of Indigenous/Aboriginal and Registered midwives in Ontario with a vision of midwives leading reproductive, pregnancy, birth, and newborn care across Ontario. There are over 1,000 midwives in Ontario, serving more than 250 communities across the province. Since midwifery became a regulated health profession in 1994, more than 400,000 babies have been born under midwifery care.