A. Yes, since 1998 Registered Midwives in BC are entitled to obtain hospital privileges which includes admitting and discharging women and their newborns and providing primary care within the hospital setting with access to diagnostic and consultant services. Their Regulatory Body, the College of Midwives of BC, requires midwives to offer choice of birthplace to all women.

Q. What does a midwife cost?

A. If you have a BC health care card (personal health number) midwifery care is funded completely by the Ministry of Health. If you do not have this coverage please speak directly with the midwives to determine the fee.

Q. Is midwifery safe?

A. Very! Midwives are the recommended caregivers for most women according to the World Health Organization. Babies are most likely to be born into the hands of skilled midwives elsewhere around the world Midwifery is a very old and respected profession. Canada and the US are the only developed countries in the world that have spent a brief period in their history without fully integrated midwifery services. Midwifery has been reintroduced, publicly funded and supported in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and the NWT because the governments have recognized the value and safety of midwifery care.

Q. If I have a midwife does that mean I cannot have pain medication?

A. Midwives offer women informed choice – and that includes the option to have a drug free labour, nitrous gas, injectable narcotics or an epidural. However, most women who use midwives seldom require pain medication because midwives provide continuous labour support. Labour support (the continuous presence of a supportive skilled provider) has been shown to decrease the need for pain medication in labour. At Valley Midwifery Group it is our practice not to offer any medications unless they become medically necessary or are requested by the woman in labour. Note: Women who choose homebirth will move to hospital during labour if pain medication is needed.

Q. Will there be a doctor at the birth?

A. No, unless you require a C/S, a forceps of vacuum delivery, or a pediatrician (baby doctors) is invited to attend for baby, you will have your midwife, your family/ friends who you have chosen, and the midwife’s backup (in hospital this is an RN- at home it is usually another midwife from the practice) with you. Midwives are very skilled at “helping babies out”.

Q. I hade a C/S before and now I want to have a vaginal birth. Am I too high risk for a midwife?

A. No. Midwives regularly care for women with a history of one previous low segment caesarian section and have a high vaginal birth after caesarian (VBAC) success rate. However, all women who wish a VBAC will be offered a consult with an obstetrician, be advised of the relative risk of a uterine rupture (0.5%), its catastrophic consequences, and the preference that they have a hospital birth to maximize safety for them and their infant due to the immediate need for a C/S should one occur.

Q. Is homebirth safe?

A For healthy women experiencing a healthy pregnancy, homebirth is as safe as hospital birth and should be offered to those women as an option. Midwives are careful to screen all potential homebirth clients for identifiable risk factors, and move women to hospital in a timely way if they are indentified first in labour. We have the training and skills to immediately manage obstetrical emergencies and also carry emergency supplies and medication including newborn intubation and ventilation equipment, portable suction, oxygen, IV therapy and other anti-hemorrhage medications to every homebirth. In the event of an emergency, we work with the local paramedic emergency response team and the hospital and will ensure speedy access to obstetrical, anaesthesia or pediatric referral when necessary.