Inuvik service suspension part of broader crisis in maternal health care — Role for midwives in fixing N.W.T.'s fragile system
Temporary labour and delivery closures at Inuvik Regional Hospital are highlighting broader challenges facing maternal health care in the Northwest Territories and across Canada. A shortage of doctors has once again forced the hospital to suspend birthing services, with patients redirected to Yellowknife.
Lesley Paulette, an Indigenous midwife and long-time advocate for midwifery in the N.W.T., says strengthening midwifery alongside physician and nursing services could help create a more stable maternal and child health system. Qualified midwives can provide a full range of care before, during and after birth, both in homes and in hospital settings.
As Paulette explained:
"To stabilize our whole maternal [and] child health service here, we have to recruit the right mix of care providers — and that includes physicians, specialists, midwives, [and] nurses."
Paulette, who was appointed to the Order of Canada for her work helping bring midwifery back to the territory, says supporting midwives as part of a broader team of health-care providers could be part of a lasting solution to the region's fragile maternal health-care system.