Fall 2010 - Association of Ontario Midwives

National News
EDMONTON: A few Ontario delegates to the Canadian Association of Midwives conference gather at the end of the conference.
Back row: Katrina Kilroy, RM (AOM President); Kathi Wilson, RM; Nicole Bennett, RM; Karline Wilson, RM; Nadya Burton, MEP Assistant Professor; Anne Wilson, RM (CAM President-Elect);
Lisa Weston, RM (AOM Vice-President); Chris Sternberg, RM; Deborah Bonser, RM
Front row: Juana Berinstein (AOM Director of Policy and Communications), Esther Willms, RM (AOM Board Member); Mary Sharpe, RM (MEP Director-Ryerson)
national
The Canadian Association of Midwives hosted its 10th
Annual General Meeting this October in Edmonton, AB,
with a focus on place of birth. The conference hosted many
notable speakers, including AOM President Katrina Kilroy,
who gave a presentation to other midwives about how to
educate physician and nursing colleagues at hospital rounds
about home birth. In addition, it was announced that Ontario
midwife Anne Wilson will take over as CAM president in
January 2011.
ontario
Ontario midwives now number over 500: new graduates
started providing care this summer. This August, Ontario’s
newest group of midwives were registered, pushing the total
number of practitioners to an all-time high of more than 500.
Jackie Klan, RM, is one of the new registrants. “My journey
of receiving care from a midwife for my own daughter’s
birth seven years ago was so profound it made me realize it
was something I wanted to offer back to people,” Klan said.
Association of Ontario Midwives President Katrina Kilroy,
RM, was one of the sixty midwives to be registered when the
profession was regulated in 1994. “It was a privilege to be in
that first group of midwives registered in Ontario,” Kilroy said.
“I’m delighted that we’ve hit this mark and even more families
can access the high quality of care midwives provide.”
New Brunswick
This August, the New Brunswick Midwifery Act was
proclaimed - the final process of integrating midwifery in
the province whereby the provincial government formally
recognizes midwives as health care professionals and
approves the regulations set out by the Midwifery Council of
New Brunswick. The Midwifery Council has been meeting to
develop standards of practice, policies and to determine scope
of practice.
saskatchewan
Health Minister Don McMorris led the launch of the
Cypress Health Region’s Midwifery Program on October 18,
recognizing Swift Current’s first midwife, Maud Addai, as
well as the nurses, physicians and other staff involved in the
development of the innovative and historic program at the
Cypress Regional Hospital. The midwifery program brings an
added dimension to the birthing services currently offered by
the Cypress Health Region, which is only the second health
region in Saskatchewan to offer the service. Maud Addai is
one of just eight midwives in the province, seven of whom
are actively practising, and she brings almost 20 years of
experience gained in the United Kingdom to her role in Swift
Current.
10 ontario midwife • Fall 2010