Midwives\u2019 workloads have increased rapidly during the pandemic as more families, particularly in rural and remote areas, want to avoid both travel and giving birth in high-exposure areas like hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
British Columbia\u2019s 300 midwives are calling on the province for support and better pay as the pandemic stretches them to the breaking point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Midwives\u2019 workloads have increased rapidly during the pandemic as more families, particularly in rural and remote areas, want to avoid both travel and giving birth in high-exposure areas like hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And according to a recent report, B.C. could lose a number of the midwives who together deliver about one-quarter of babies in the province if action isn\u2019t taken quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve reached an urgent crisis point where if we don\u2019t support the midwifery profession, then we will be losing a significant portion of our members in the next three to five years and that will have a direct impact on patients,\u201d said Lehe Spiegelman, president of the Midwives Association of B.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The results of a recent survey of midwives in B.C. conducted by two University of British Columbia researchers show how the pandemic has strained a profession already facing major challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two-thirds of midwives say their workload has increased due to the pandemic and 77 per cent are feeling burnt out, compared to 45 per cent who felt the same way in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 80 per cent also reported making their own PPE to protect themselves and patients at appointments, which take place anywhere from a client\u2019s home to a community clinic to a hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And one in five midwives say they are actively taking steps towards leaving the profession, more than double the number doing so in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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