Monday, May 30, 2011

Pay Equity for Midwives

I am a HUGE fan of midwives!  I have had wonderful experiences in their care with all four of my children.  I can't say enough about how they treat a woman as an intelligent participant in pregnancy and childbirth and how great it is to have their support at home after childbirth.  So when I found out that they are looking for pay equity I was more than happy to write a couple of emails.  I wish I could attend the rally on Wednesday but it's just not possible.  I hope there will be a great turnout and that they will be heard.

Below is the letter I wrote to my MPP (you can find your local MPP here) and to the Minister of Health.

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I'm writing to request your support in ensuring pay equity for midwives.  I was blessed to have all four of my children under the wonderful care of the Community Midwives of Halton, the most recent being born this past February.  I am truly grateful to have access to professionals who view pregnancy and childbirth as a normal and healthy process in a woman's life.

As you may know,
midwifery care is a cost effective option for women that improves outcomes for mothers and babies.  Midwives have provided care to over 100,000 mothers and babies in home and hospital since 1994. 

Ontario midwives are asking the Ontario government for a pay equity adjustment.
  • Midwives have been providing excellent, cost-effective care for 17 years - for 11 of those years they received zero pay increase
  • Midwives’ pay has fallen behind that of other health care providers
  • An independent, third party report funded by the Ministry of Health recently concluded that there is a large pay equity gap for midwives

Please encourage Premier Dalton McGuinty on my behalf, and on behalf of the thousands of other women who are thankful for our midwives, to provide a pay equity adjustment for midwives.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.
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What about you?  Have you ever had a midwife?  Even if you haven't, I love birth stories so feel free to provide a link to yours!

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this. I hit a brain fart trying to figure out what I wanted to write to Dalton McGuinty's site. It jogged me along to write something rather than give up when I came up with blank for some reason.

    I had my first child with a ob/gyn practice in Milton and had my second and third children with my midwives in Mississauga. We hit some snags along the way and they were wonderful. The funny thing is that as an immigrant (British) with my first, I sought a midwife but was informed by coworkers that they didn't use midwives in Canada. I was annoyed and disappointed when I found out they were wrong. It was a relief to have midwives for my other 2 pregnancies and births.

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  2. Emily, I'm so glad this was helpful. I was shocked to learn midwives hadn't had a raise in 11 years - can't imagine that happening in other professions... I was sorry I wasn't able to attend the rally today and really hope that all the emails sent have an impact.

    I'm so thankful that not only do we have access to midwives but also that it is covered by OHIP! It's a shame that people continue to be so misinformed about the role of midwives.

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  3. Listening to my inlaws and few older Canadians, I get the distinct impression that Midwives just aren't respected as professionals here by much of the population. My inlaws are lovely people, but I might as well have told them I was going sky diving when I asked about midwives with my first pregnancy. They've given that same panic stricken reaction when I planned home births and did anything that they didn't deem "normal." I think they've concluded my family are weird because I just tend to do what my mother did.

    Hopefully word keeps spreading and midwives in Ontario finally reach pay equity.

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