The AOM blog is updated periodically with columns about current health care issues, the benefits of midwifery, and insights into improving maternal and newborn care in Ontario. Posts may be from midwives or staff of the association. Lisa M. Weston, RM, is the current president of the Association of Ontario Midwives. Entries prior to May 16, 2012 were written by then-president Katrina Kilroy, RM.
It was this political momentum, of women demanding choice over their reproduction, that ultimately led to regulated midwifery in Ontario. Women fighting for the right to choose safe, legal abortion were often the same women who were fighting for the right to choose where and with whom to safely give birth.
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Midwives are provincially funded to provide care to residents in Ontario, including uninsured and undocumented women. We have seen first-hand the struggles and vulnerabilities of women who, for whatever reason, are undocumented. And we believe strongly that everyone should have access to health care. In fact, prenatal care is recognized as one of the most cost-effective strategies in health care as a whole. Adequate prenatal care leads to healthier babies and less expense on the health care system in the long run.
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The gender wage gap is an issue that affects all women, no matter what kind of work they do. The right of women to equal pay for work of equal value is an internationally recognized human right so it’s shocking that in Ontario in 2013 women still earn so much less than men for work of equal value.
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Ontario needs a health care system that provides quality and value for maternal and newborn health and midwives deliver nothing short of that. Midwives are leaders in maternal and newborn health. We have a strong vision that can contribute to building a sustainable and responsive health care system in Ontario during these challenging times.
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The Association of Ontario Midwives was heartened to hear in yesterday’s speech from the throne that the Ontario Government is committed to building “the strongest and most innovative health-care system in the world.” Particularly of interest is that the government signaled a commitment to patient-centered care. The midwives of Ontario could not agree more.
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