Kudos to Rose Perrin and the entire perinatal program team at Northern Health for their dedication and hard work on the behalf of expectant and new mothers and their newborns (Northern Health wants more natural births, Jan. 9).
Rose Perrin is right: birthing babies is hard and rewarding work. Women who choose to have their babies via caesarean section may be under the impression that the benefits outweigh the significant risks of major surgery. Women who have experienced birth by caesarean section can better understand the challenges of recovering from this type of surgery while trying to care for a newborn, challenges that are often underreported or ignored in the media.
That the number of babies born by c-section has increased dramatically in the last 40 years - adding unnecessary costs and pressure to our already overburdened health-care system -is of great concern to B.C.'s registered midwives.
Registered midwives are highly trained, university educated and regulated by the province.
In British Columbia today approximately one in three babies is born by caesarean section. In contrast, the rate of C-sections in births attended by registered midwives is significantly lower - less than one in five.
Midwives help to decrease the overall rate in every community where they are a part of the health-care team. With programs like Managing Obstetrical Risk Efficiently and more collaboration among primary care givers across the province, it is possible to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes and decrease the number of interventions women are experiencing during their labour and birth.
Registered midwives are part of the solution, and we are ready to work in partnership with the province, Northern Health, and other health authorities as primary care givers to tackle this important maternity care challenge.
Ganga Jolicoeur
Prince George
