For Midwives

Midwifery in our province is at a tipping point. We need to engage leaders in the legislature and the public service to ensure they are aware of the challenges midwives are facing and what they can do to help.

You can continue to email or call elected representatives as well as key public servants (we’ve included websites and contact information to help get you started). Your experience as clinicians matters, and your stories from the front lines can make a difference. Let’s make midwifery a critical issue for the B.C. government and work together to build awareness around midwifery needs in B.C.

We invite you to speak from your heart. You can also work with the talking points below, either by copying them into an email or using them as prompts for a phone conversation.

Talking Points:

It’s time for the government to support B.C. midwives so we can continue to support B.C. families.

Public demand for midwives continues to grow. In B.C., we have reached an all-time high in parents seeking midwifery care during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. And that demand has only increased during COVID.

Midwives are currently involved in almost one quarter of pregnancies in the province. But we are the second lowest paid in the profession across the country. Registered midwives and family physicians provide the same primary maternity care, and yet we are excluded from provincial benefits such as health and disability, pension and parental leave.

If the fundamental inequities remain unaddressed, one in three B.C. midwives say they will be forced to leave the profession or change careers.

B.C.’s government has the opportunity to address the inequities in our healthcare system and ensure the long-term availability of midwifery services for all British Columbians.

As a midwife, I support the provincial government allocating funds to:

• ensure B.C. families continue to receive high-quality primary maternity care by investing in benefits and business supports for midwives;
• support equity in maternity care—equal pay and benefits for midwives—and ensure that midwifery is there for B.C. families;
• and support Indigenous midwives and improve access to birth and maternity services in Indigenous communities.

The solutions to the current crisis of burnout and attrition among B.C. midwives are clear. The B.C. government must invest in supporting midwifery care, and commit to long-term sustainability by bringing compensation in line with other primary care providers.

Who to write and call:

Ask for a virtual meeting with your MLA. You can find your MLA here.

Please also write to public servants. Government employees and officials are responsible for developing policy and implementing provincial direction. Some key contacts in the Ministry of Health include:

• Ted Patterson (Assistant Deputy Minister) Patterson@gov.bc.ca
• Mark Armitage (Assistant Deputy Minister) Armitage@gov.bc.ca
• Natasha Prodan-Bhalla (Chief Nurse and Professional Practice Officer, Nursing Policy Secretariat) Prodan-Bhalla@gov.bc.ca
• Glenys Webster (Director, Women’s, Maternal and Early Childhood Health) 

We know you are already burdened by busy practices and professional and personal demands, but we are grateful for any time you can spend reaching out to the government on behalf of all midwives.

Want to share this information with your clients? Click here to redirect them on our website.