When Jane Church was pregnant with her first child, her labour unexpectedly progressed so quickly she ended up giving birth at home.
But she was not worried. In fact, Church felt relief. Even though her plan to deliver at a Toronto birth centre had fallen through, she was safe and felt peaceful. She credits her sense of peace with having a midwife, who had taken the time to explain every birthing detail and scenario to Church.
“I felt very well prepared,” said Church, who works at an environmental non-profit in Toronto. “I never felt like there was anything I didn't understand… I just felt competent in the whole process.”
In many countries, including Sweden and England, midwives are the primary health-care provider for pregnancy and births, resulting in lower health-care costs and more choices for their birth plan.
But this is not the case for midwifery in Canada.
Obstetricians and physicians specialized in obstetrics were the primary health care providers for 87 per cent of births in Canada in 2021, according to the Canadian Association of Midwives.
