Strategic Plan 2022 - 2025

Graphic representation of AOM Strategic Plan 2022-20225. See transcript for full text.

See Strategic Plan graphic transcript.

Our Vision

Midwives leading decolonized and anti-racist reproductive, pregnancy, birth, postpartum & newborn care

Our Core Purpose

To advance the clinical and professional practice of Indigenous and Registered midwives

Our Values

  • Provide courageous, compassionate and principled leadership
  • Consider Indigenous issues and social justice in all decision making
  • Promote and support the restoration and renewal of Indigenous midwifery
  • Promote, safeguard and support normal birth
  • Advocate for members' rights that promote long term career satisfaction
  • Create systems and tools that uphold equity within the midwifery profession, in relationship to clients & within the health care system
  • Respect client dignity, autonomy, cultural safety and experience as central to decision making in midwifery care
  • Establish accessible, high quality and responsive services which meet the needs of the membership
  • Enhance the potential of midwifery to contribute to the well-being of society.

Strategic Goals: Objectives

Grow Indigenous midwifery

Objective 1: Support the success of Indigenous midwifery where it exists and develop capacity for new midwifery services in communities that currently lack midwifery

Objective 2:  Support the diversity of learning pathways in alignment and collaboration with Indigenous nations and communities

Objective 3: Increase Indigenous leadership and collaboration within the AOM while moving towards a goal of self determination and Indigenous governance of Indigenous midwifery

Objective 4: Increase Indigenous voices and perspectives on external committees and in organizations in the maternal newborn and child health sector to enable structural and systemic change

Achieve racial justice in midwifery

Objective 1: Investigate and address factors that enable systemic racism and oppression in midwifery, including but not limited to anti-Black racism, white supremacy and Islamophobia by: (a) centring racial equity and an intersectional lens; (b) evaluating and implementing EDI in AOM governance and activities to redress the historical, colonial and systemic barriers and oppressions; and (c) reflecting commitments in resource allocation, governing structures and core values

Objective 2: Create systems that foster equitable work conditions for midwives and AOM staff free of racism and oppression to safeguard well-being, professional growth and retention

Objective 3: Recognize IBPOC excellence; remove barriers and create opportunities for IBPOC midwives to attain leadership roles; and build on their leadership development to achieve success as leaders in midwifery

Objective 4: Support member and staff learning regarding the ways systemic racism and white supremacy culture impact racial and reproductive justice, and advocate to close gaps in the quality and safety of care for IBPOC and equity-deserving birthing communities

Objective 5: Increase recruitment of IBPOC people into midwifery

Foster sustainable midwifery practice

Objective 1: Develop and implement a plan to address the factors that contribute to and undermine the mental health of midwives

Objective 2: Develop and implement a plan to address the factors that contribute to and undermine midwives’ job satisfaction and longevity in the profession

Objective 3: Develop and implement a plan to support what differentiates midwifery care from other types of reproductive, obstetrical, postpartum and newborn care, including with respect to culturally respectful and responsive care

Objective 4: Increase midwife confidence in providing home birth and consumer confidence in choosing this option, including through improving cultural safety

Objective 5: Provide concrete, specific and responsive supports to midwives practicing less than five years

Objective 6: Support professional ethics in practice management

Value midwives

Objective 1: Free midwifery compensation and compensation processes from systemic gender, racial and intersecting bias and discrimination

Objective 2: Improve understanding of midwifery by health-care providers and the public

Objective 3: Using a racial equity and intersectional framework, increase midwifery leadership and contributions in the health-care system, and promote mentorship and excellence at leadership levels

Objective 4: Support clinical excellence

Objective 5: Make midwifery central to Ontario’s Health Human Resources planning within all levels of health system planning, including in Ontario Health Teams

Objective 6:  Expand opportunities to create, disseminate and implement midwifery research; support midwife researchers; and optimize the collection and use of midwifery data upholding Indigenous and Black communities’ data governance frameworks (e.g. OCAP and EGAP)