April 3, 1998 – The ministers of health and justice of Quebec, Jean Rochon and Serge Ménard, yesterday followed up on the conclusions of the Report of the Council for the evaluation of pilot projects which recommended recognition of the profession.
From September 1999, midwives will have the right to perform deliveries both in hospitals and in birthing centers and, at the same time, a Quebec university should welcome the first candidates for the midwifery diploma. The government’s target is for the number of active midwives to reach 212 in 2007-2008, compared to only 43 today.
The decision of the Quebec government marks a turning point in the long battle that has taken place between midwives and the medical profession, originally fiercely opposed to their presence in a field reserved for physicians for several decades. Until recently, the medical corporation opposed the practice of midwives in birthing centers, which are now becoming a place of consecrated practice.
Midwifery services will continue to be provided by the State and will remain completely free. For the moment, the Quebec government has not yet authorized home births as requested by the Pilot Projects Evaluation Council because this point has encountered clear opposition from obstetricians. They maintain that home births do not provide all the desirable safety for childbirth. On the other hand, some women still decide to give birth at home, it is difficult to see how it would be possible to force them to do otherwise and not eventually provide them with support. Minister Rochon, who has shown himself open to the practice of home births, handed the decision on this issue to the future professional order of midwives who will have to determine under what conditions they could take place.
HealthPassport.net
