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Ontario Expanding Midwifery Services in Nipissing

NORTH BAY– With more than 140,000 babies being welcomed to the world each year in Ontario, families are looking for more options when it comes to choosing their care. That’s why Ontario’s Government for the People is investing in frontline care by expanding access to midwifery services across the province.

Today, Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli announced the government is providing an additional $578,604 this year to support midwives in Nipissing. This is part of Ontario’s Government for the People’s investment of an additional $28 million to expand midwifery services across Ontario, which will help up to 3,400 more families access additional choice in primary care during a pregnancy, birth and postpartum.

Local funding includes:

• K’Tigaaning Midwives – $   328,105
• Midwives Sages-Femmes of North Bay – $250,499

Ontario is also working to responsibly expand the scope of practice for midwives to allow them to prescribe more medications to clients. This change will provide greater choice and convenience for families and reduce time that patients wait for medications and therapies.

“Our government is protecting what matters most by ensuring families across Ontario have more choices when it comes to delivering their babies,” said Fedeli. “This additional funding will mean more families in Nipissing will be able to access quality care from a midwife during pregnancy, labour and birth, as well as six weeks of support once their baby is born.”

These new investments across the province will also:

• Support up to 90 new midwifery graduates entering the field;
• Increase access to culturally appropriate midwifery care by expanding Indigenous midwifery programs;
• Ensure midwifery practice groups can update their technology to continue providing quality services; and
• Commit to ongoing funding for a Mount Sinai Academic Family Health Team pilot program to ensure their patients can receive ongoing midwifery care.

“Our investment in midwifery services is part of our government’s commitment to focus health care dollars where they will have the most impact and do the most good for Ontarians — on frontline care,” said Fedeli.

Quick facts

• With the government’s new investments, Ontario is providing $178 million for midwifery services this year, supporting up to 35,000 families.
• Investing in midwifery services is part of Ontario’s plan to create a modern, sustainable, and patient-centered public health care system.
• Midwives offer a choice in birth settings, including home, hospital or midwifery-led birth centres in Toronto and Ottawa. Midwifery care results in fewer medical and surgical interventions, higher breastfeeding rates and shorter hospital stays.