Overturning Roe v. Wade an assault on fundamental human rights
Date: June 29, 2022
Calling on all governments to defend access to safe and quality abortion care, the Association of Ontario Midwives stands in solidarity with other health organizations from around the world who have signed a statement under the umbrella of the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (…
GOAL! Achieving equal pay on the soccer field
Date: June 22, 2022
The AOM applauds the perseverance of United States Women's National Team Players Association pursuing and achieving gender justice in sport. After years of fighting for equal pay in professional soccer, the United States Soccer Federation (US Soccer), the United States Women's National Team Pl…
Midwives deliver - on World Refugee Day and every day
Date: June 15, 2022
Monday, June 20, is World Refugee Day, a date designated by the United Nations to honour the courage and strength of people who have fled their home country to escape persecution or conflict. The date presents an opportunity to foster empathy for the challenges faced by refugees around the world and to acknowledge the resilience required to rebuild their lives. In honour of World Refugee Day, five midwives who devote a significant amount of their time and work to providing supports and services to refugee populations in their communities share their stories.
Midwives keep winning in fight to close the pay gap
Date: June 13, 2022
Midwives have emerged winners once again, following another failed legal appeal initiated by the Ford government. Now the highest court in the province, the Ontario Court of Appeal, has also ruled unanimously in favour of midwives. Affirming the government of Ontario is responsible for systematically discriminating against midwives because their work is so deeply associated with women’s care work, the court upheld earlier court orders directing government to take concrete action to close the gender pay gap.
#MidwiferyDataMatters: Examining the rise in out-of-hospital birth during the COVID-19 pandemic
Date: June 7, 2022
The increase in demand for home births during the COVID-19 pandemic has been reported anecdotally, but is this trend evident in the available midwifery data? To answer this question, the AOM looked to midwifery data collected through BORN Ontario, the Ontario perinatal database. The data on actual …
Standing up for reproductive justice: Ontario Election 2022
Date: May 25, 2022
This election, the Association of Ontario Midwives is calling on all political party leaders to commit to the following priorities: PRIORITY: Government invest in bringing birth home to First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities PRIORITY: Government to (finally!) close the gender pay gap for midwives PRIORITY: Government to prioritize reproductive health care
Informed decision-making in politics: How the major Ontario political party platforms address midwifery priorities
Date: May 18, 2022
The AOM encourages all midwives and their supporters to make a plan to vote. What motivates a person’s vote is influenced by their personal and community context, of which midwifery and reproductive justice may be one factor. Election day is June 2, and advance polls are open between May 19 and May…
Making waves: Legal precedent set by Ontario midwives cited in 66 cases involving discrimination
Date: May 13, 2022
When midwives took the provincial government to court in 2013 it was a last-straw effort, having exhausted all other options to work with government to hold them accountable for devaluing midwifery work due to its deep association with women. Without any guarantee that years of being underpaid woul…
Recognizing Outstanding Midwifery Leaders: Liz Darling
Date: March 1, 2022
After 14 years of engagement on numerous AOM committees, work groups and task forces, Dr. Liz Darling is taking a step back from active involvement in association work. During this time, Liz led and/or participated in several important projects that have been instrumental in the advancement of t…
AOM's Emergency Skills Workshop 2021: Year in Review
Date: February 22, 2022
The ESW program had a busy 2021, recertifying a record 465 midwives despite having to cancel seven ESWs due to COVID lockdowns. AOM staff worked hard to ensure midwives could receive in-person training in emergency skills safely with measures and precautions (PDF, 788 KB) to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. See the ESW 2021 Year in Review Infographic for a snapshot of 2021 ESW achievements.