Midwives host education event for MPPs at Queen’s Park

Top image: John Vanthof MPP for Timiskaming-Cochrane tries his hand at weighing a baby with Indigenous Midwife Ashley Lickers at the AOM's Queen's Park Day 2024.

On Oct. 21, 2024, the AOM hosted an education event at Queen's Park. The event fell on the first day back for MPPs from across the province to the legislature. Negotiations Task Force members, midwifery clients and supporters, and AOM staff gathered to raise awareness about key midwifery issues, celebrate Indigenous midwifery, which has been on this land since time immemorial, and mark 30 years of regulated midwifery in Ontario.

MPPs engaged with midwives on the successes and challenges facing midwifery today. Midwives were well represented by AOM Board members, including President Althea Jones, as well as Negotiations Task Force (NTF) members and Chairs of AOM Committees and Work Groups (midwives Jenna Bly, Krista Fairles, Bounmy Inthavong, Anna Meuser, Christine Roy, Natasha Singleton-Bassaragh). Indigenous midwifery was represented by Ashley Lickers, Indigenous midwife practicing at Six Nations, along with AOM staff Leila Monib, Director of Indigenous Midwifery (IM), Diane Simon, Mi’kmaw midwife and IM policy analyst, and Donika Stonefish, IM policy analyst.

Midwives educated MPPs on the midwifery model of care, including primary dyad health care, home assessment and community care. MPPs tried their hand at weighing a baby, as a routine part of a neonatal postpartum visit, learning about how midwives work to fill gaps in early postpartum care, including for non-midwifery clients. MPPs connected with midwifery clients and babies directly to hear first-hand about the positive experiences from their communities.

Highlights of the AOM’s poster presentations underscored the value midwives bring to the health system and the different ways midwives across the province are working to expand access to care for Ontarians through innovative, community-responsive programs.

President Althea Jones delivered key messages that valuing and funding midwives and midwifery leads to improved access to care and a sustained midwifery workforce. Jones emphasized investment in Indigenous and regulated midwifery as an important step towards health equity, access and reconciliation.

Donika Stonefish shared knowledge with attendees about the Two Row Wampum Treaty and the ongoing shared responsibility to uphold and reflect on our relationship to the treaty. The AOM called attention to how First Nations, Inuit and Metis midwives are working within their communities to return birth and restore birth sovereignty.

MPPs made remarks in support of midwives’ contributions to Ontario’s health-care system. Honourable Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Health Minister, welcomed midwives to Queen’s Park as the sponsoring party. Jones affirmed a commitment to working with midwives, including continuing on the path towards scope expansion, noting to midwives that “her door is always open.”

NDP health critic and MPP for Nickle Belt France Gélinas, spoke about the need for growth in midwifery, including need for increased investments in base budgets. Gélinas lamented the impact of the closure of Laurentian University’s MEP in her community and the difficulty to retain midwives in rural, remote, Indigenous and Francophone communities without local community training. Gélinas highlighted the unnecessary struggle of red tape and restrictions midwives continue to navigate to provide excellence in care, including the current barriers surrounding midwives providing RSV immunization. “Midwives don’t take no for an answer,” Gélinas said, “they continue to work hard.” She expanded “But it shouldn’t be that hard. Why is it that every step the midwifery profession takes forward comes with a ton of work, effort and energy?”

Sarah Jama, Independent MPP for Hamilton Centre drew connections between support for midwifery and racial justice for Indigenous, Black and racialized communities: “We all know that the fight to protect the field of midwifery is a racial justice issue. You all are doing the great work to ensure that Black people and Indigenous people in this country feel safe seeking care.” Jama continued, “We know the history in this country, specifically, Black and Indigenous women were sterilized against their will, knowledge and consent…. That’s a history that is forcing young mothers to not feel safe in our hospitals, a history we see every single day when people call our offices today, experiencing medical racism.” Jama recognized the integral role midwives play in reducing the mortality rate facing Black and Indigenous birthing persons, and called on the increased inclusion and integration of midwifery within the health system. “Without you, so many [families] that I know wouldn’t have gone through the pregnancy and birthing process safely.” Jama referred to midwives as “essential workers” and called on government to start treating them as such.

Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Ontario Green Party and MPP for Guelph, shared his support for midwives’ relentless pay equity struggle and made a plea to the government to honour its obligation to removing systemic gender discrimination without the need for further legal process. “The pre- and post-natal care you provide families… I can tell you, as a partner, we benefit too.”

Dr. Adil Shamji, Ontario Liberal health critic and MPP for Don Valley East, closed the evening with remarks sharing personal experience as an Emergency Department physician working in collaboration with midwives  who run the early pregnancy loss clinic at his hospital and the incredible expertise and value they bring to the program. Shamji also shared experiences working alongside midwives in Attawapiskat, acknowledging the unique barriers facing remote communities, including forced medical evacuations for Indigenous clients. “If we want everyone everywhere to have access to the same high-quality health care and obstetrical care, that necessarily means an investment in midwifery.”

The AOM thanks all MPPs who took the time to attend and meet with midwives and their supporters to hear about issues directly and looks forward to strengthening relationships to grow a sustainable, valued, integrated midwifery workforce.