Fall 2010 - Association of Ontario Midwives

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Consumer Resources New breastfeeding book, posters The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is a staple in many midwifery clinics’ client lending libraries. First published over 50 years ago as a booklet, the publication has grown with La Leche League International to be one of the world’s leading authorities on breastfeeding. A brand-new edition is now available. Written by Canadian author and breastfeeding expert Teresa Pitman, the 2010 version includes technical information along with mothers’ stories and handy tear-sheets. Ontario government introduces expanded online newborn registration service With just a few clicks, Ontario parents can now apply online for child benefit programs, including the Ontario Child Benefit, when they register their newborns. In partnership with the Canada Revenue Agency and Service Canada, the ServiceOntario website has expanded its Newborn Registration Service application. This online service now provides a quick, easy and secure way for parents to register their newborn, apply for a birth certificate, a Social Insurance Number Card and Canada Child Benefits. This expanded service lets parents combine four separate applications into one easy-to-use online process from the comfort of their home. No waiting in line and faster processing times makes it easier for busy new parents to cross another thing off their to-do list. Ligue La Leche, the Quebec division, has a new series of breastfeeding posters for sale in English and French. Order here: www.allaitement. ca/produits/affiches.php Canadian Paediatric Society calls for milk banks Pasteurized human milk is a recommended alternative for hospitalized sick newborns when their own mother’s milk is not available, according to a new statement by the Canadian Paediatric Society. The statement, published in the November issue of Paediatrics & Child Health, says that human milk banking in Canada should be encouraged and promoted. “The most vulnerable babies should receive human milk,” said Dr. Sharon Unger, principal author of the statement and member of the CPS Nutrition and Gastroenterology Committee. “Only about half of the mothers of these babies will have an adequate milk supply, sometimes because they are sick themselves, or due to the stress of having a very sick baby or from being separated from their baby.” Yet the supply of donor breast milk in Canada is limited. The only human milk bank in Canada, based in Vancouver, can’t meet the needs of all babies who could benefit. The statement recommends strict controls on how and when human donor milk should be used. It also recommends continued research into the benefits of banked human breast milk for preterm infants in the NICU. To access the full statement, visit: www.cps.ca 8 ontario midwife • Fall 2010
Research / Government Initiatives Eileen Hutton, RM, PhD, recently accepted a five-year, endowed professorship at Vrije University in Amsterdam in the Midwifery Science Division, the first midwife to ever carry the title “Professor” in the Netherlands. Midwife-researcher appointed to Dutch professorship Though Ontario has borrowed much from the Dutch model of midwifery care, it is now our turn to give back. This past summer, Eileen Hutton, RM, PhD accepted a five-year, endowed professorship at Vrije University in Amsterdam in the Midwifery Science Division. Hutton is the first midwife to ever hold a professorship role in the Netherlands, as most midwifery educators there hold a lecturer title. “I think someone from Canada is well-suited to move into that position since our model is so highly influenced by their model,” Hutton said. “It is very fitting that we borrowed from them and are now contributing to their programs.” She will continue with her role as assistant dean of the Midwifery of Education Program at McMaster University, where her research background is already a valuable asset. In addition to her bachelor in nursing, master’s in parent child nursing and midwifery degree, Hutton holds a PhD in clinical epidemiology – the study of health patterns amongst populations. Her research work has garnered her several awards, including the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Career Scholar award, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award as well as the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada Western Regional Award. Hutton has been a coauthor in at least 10 academic research papers investigating topics such as home birth, sterile water injections to treat pain, external cephalic version, breech birth and late versus early cord clamping. Her research focuses on clinical trial methodology and knowledge translation. For the Dutch professorship, Hutton will be mainly working with other professors and academics from a research point of view, rather than in a traditional teaching position. She sees the role as being transitional and hopes that after her term is up, there will be Dutch midwives who will be able to move into the position. She currently plans to travel to the Netherlands several times a year. Hutton’s new role as the Vrije head of the midwifery sciences department evolved over time. Three years ago she visited the university to learn more about their research and research units. Following this came the idea that Hutton could take on the duties of a visiting professor, which eventually developed into the current professorship role. Hutton thinks it is a good fit for both Canada and the Netherlands. While the Dutch institute will make use of her expertise to develop its research capacity, Hutton and other researchers will benefit from the country’s longer history of midwifery care Midwives support Nurse Practitioner scope review This summer, the provincial government announced considerations to expand the role of nurse practitioners by allowing them to admit, discharge and transfer patients in-hospital and announced a public consultation looking into how patients would benefit from these changes. The AOM took the opportunity to submit a letter of support, highlighting lessons learned from the integration of midwives into hospitals. When midwives gained hospital privileges with regulation, it translated into benefits for both hospitals and patients – midwifery clients are known to have significantly shorter hospital stays and lower rates of readmission. Nurse practitioners with a greater range of responsibility in hospitals could result in similar benefits. The government is now reviewing feedback it received in the consultation process and plans to meet with individual stakeholders throughout the fall. When Bill 179 was passed last December, nurse practitioners’ roles were expanded to allow them to communicate diagnoses to patients, to perform procedures below the dermis and to order X-rays without restrictions, among other things. The new push from government to expand the role of nurse practitioners is part of the Family Health Care for All Strategy – which aims to address patients who do not have a primary care provider – and comes in advance of the expected opening of 25 nurse practitioner-led clinics in Ontario in 2012. and rich study population. “Access to a country where midwifery is the norm and where large numbers of women receive midwifery care – along with building collegial relationships – will have benefit to us as well,” Hutton said. www.aom.on.ca 09
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Fall 2010 - Association of Ontario Midwives

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