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Midwifery Regulation in New Brunswick

February 26, 2016 by Yolande Leave a Comment

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Regulated midwifery has been legislated in the province of New Brunswick for a couple of years, but implementation is now imminent, with the recent announcement of the funding of a pilot project which will involve hiring four regulated midwives.

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Midwifery regulation is terrible for regulated midwives, and it’s terrible for women, and we can see the evidence of this all over the world. Under regulation, everyone’s “options” become narrower and narrower, and everyone involved is owned.

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The big lie is that regulation improves “access”.  Those of us who have seen it in action know that the result is the opposite.  Because of the rigid structure of a regulated midwife’s “scope of practice”, history tells us that only the healthiest, most privileged, urban, educated women end up with home births under regulation–not the fat women, or the poor women, or the GBS-positive women, or the women who give birth at 43 weeks’ gestation, or the women who have had previous c-sections.

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I understand perfectly well that there are “provisions” in every midwifery act,  allowing for women’s “choices”.   Lip-service is made to the concept of “informed consent” throughout the medical industry.  In practice however, we know this is specious and laughable.  “Choice”–real choice– doesn’t happen in hospitals, and it often doesn’t happen under the care of regulated midwives.  Women continue to be pressured and coerced into making choices that they wouldn’t otherwise make.  The difference is that under regulated midwifery, that coercion may take place much more nicely, sweetly, and indirectly, but it happens, and it happens because regulated midwives’ hands are tied by the strictures of the the rules under which they are governed–and because regulated midwives are trained in a medicalized paradigm.  Often midwives themselves are unfamiliar with truly physiological, spontaneous birth.

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I receive messages every week from women all over the country (in provinces in which regulation has been implemented), who tell me stories about being informed by their registered midwife when they are 42 weeks pregnant, that their midwife will no longer be permitted to attend their birth at home.  Or women who were in the birth process for 20 hours, and whose midwife then informed them that they had reached the cut-off point, and that they would have to be transferred–according to the midwifery stipulations–to the hospital.

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I have known that the implementation of the NB Midwifery Act was in the works for quite some time now, and I have never had any illusions about it.  But what does admittedly bother me, is the scores of women–many of whom I know personally, many of whom have come to the free meetings that New Brunswick independent birth attendance have offered in order to share information and knowledge on birth, many of whom have called the independent birth attendants of New Brunswick on the phone for advice, or who have emailed the independent birth attendants of New Brunswick and received detailed responses, many of whom have expected, and received, the time and energy of New Brunswick independent birth attendants, some of whom have even hired independent birth attendants to witness their (wonderful) births, and some of whom have witnessed the births of others alongside New Brunswick independent birth attendants–who are cheering the arrival of funding as though it is only at this moment, thanks to the benevolence of government, that home birth is suddenly, magically available to women. Most of these women know full well that their support of regulation is a direct vote to throw under the bus the independent birth attendants who have been working in this province for years.  Several of these independent birth attendants have many many years of experience and expertise in spontaneous, autonomous, physiological birth.

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Regulation is about medicalizing birth, in its entirety.  Appropriating the term “midwifery”, is a brilliant maneuver; a genius way to stamp out female reproductive autonomy entirely, in the most fundamental way, and to colonize women’s bodies completely, with as little resistance as possible. “Midwifery” used to mean a woman who supported other women during the normal biological process of birth.  The word now refers to a medical professional, trained in an academic setting, by obstetricians and nurses, in the “management” of “low-risk” birth.

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Among other things (power, control) this is an issue to do with money. The party that signs the cheques holds the power.  Under regulation, this would be the government.  The best decision of my own life was to go into personal debt in order to pay my traditional birth attendant several thousand dollars, after I fired my regulated midwife during my first pregnancy.  During my birth what she did was to sit there, and say some words to me.  It was the best money I have ever spent.

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I don’t give a darn what the government does, or how they want to configure the delivery of their medicine.  But I do have a huge problem with the criminalization, either directly or indirectly, of women’s reproductive autonomy.

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Following are just a few recent testimonies from (mostly) New Brunswick women, who were once in support of midwifery regulation.

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Liza: I used to be one of those women that supported NB having regulated Midwives…for years! That was, until I realized (much to the inspired words I have read on your blog…) that regulated Midwifery is just a different way to control birth. If I had chosen to have a Midwife attended birth this last time….I wouldn’t have qualified because I live too far from a hospital. Happily, Violet was born peaceful & unattended by ‘regulations.
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Laura:  I didn’t know better, and thought regulated midwifery was the best and smartest choice. That they were the knowledgable champions of natural birth. But then I actually decided to do my homework, due diligence, and make an educated, informed choice. I learned about the wonderful independent birth attendants in our province, and learned about how experienced, and knowledgeable, and truly caring they/you are. I had THE best birth, and I owe it all to the support of the independent birth attendant of our province and the community of women they inspire.
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Natasha: I wish I had known this, I hired a registered midwife only to be told at 41 weeks that now the doctor won’t allow a home birth, they had me take castor oil twice to try to start labor before the clock ran out.  Then they all told me I was doing something to stop labor.. I was in hospital 2 weeks refusing interventions and being harassed every day. Most stressful event of my life despite being raped and beaten 11 months prior… I actually wanted to die for the first time ever, it was so horrible.
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Erin:  Not long ago I experienced a powerful realization, sitting in a room full of women who have peacefully given birth at home here in new brunswick over the last decade. Not a single one of us met the criteria to have a regulated midwife attended homebirth. Despite the empowering stories of amazing homebirths we shared, the happy giggling toddlers, and the sweet healthy nursing babies to show. Not a single damn one of us would have been “permitted” to have the birth we wanted under regulated care. New brunswick receiving funding for midwives is not progressive, it’s another way to manage women, to monopolize birth. There have been a handful of women in this province for years helping women obtain the birth they desire. I for one would like to see it stay this way.  It was quite a surreal moment going around the room listening to women list off the reasons why they would have been/will be risked. I had already changed my mind at that point about bring regulated midwifery to nb, but that really opened my eyes to how very important traditional attendeds are here in nb. It’s scary to see the direction this is going, and the number or women jumping on board.

Filed Under: Birth, Pregnancy, Testimonials, Uncategorized Tagged With: babies, childbirth myths, dissent, judgement, mommy wars, motherhood, natural childbirth, New Brunswick, politics, rant

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I work with smart, independent women who are sick of feeling disempowered by the myth that childbirth is a medical event from which we need to be delivered. I help mothers navigate the process of planning and manifesting their freebirth without fear. I'm also a writer and a ceramic artist. Feel free to get in touch with me at sasamat(dot)clark(at)gmail(dot)com.

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