This week, the Regroupement Les Sages- femmes du Québec is in negotiations with the government for the renewal of their agreement, which expired for more than two years. As an organization mobilized for access to midwifery services for more than 25 years, we are very concerned about the situation.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
The issues at the heart of the negotiations
The pandemic has accentuated the crisis that was already latent with the shortage of midwives, the low number of graduates and the difficult conditions of practice and study. A few weeks ago, with activists from all over Quebec, we took the floor to express our concern and request a meeting with the ministers responsible for the files.
Since the start of the crisis, midwives have been there: they have adapted their practice to the pandemic, they have gone to lend a hand to other teams, they have participated in vaccination and sampling, often in addition of their work.
The government does not show that it recognizes this contribution. For families, one of the essential aspects of midwifery practice is the time they offer us: relational continuity and great availability, prenatally, to be present at childbirth and postnatally.
This is possible thanks to the on-call hours they do and which are insufficiently recognized and financially compensated. This aspect of their work, so precious for families, ensures the safety of the practice, but also meets the needs of women, trans and non-binary people who give birth.
In addition to these bargaining issues, the development of midwifery services has been interrupted during the pandemic.
Major issues regarding access to midwifery services remain: it is currently impossible to give birth with a midwife in Laval, on the North Shore and in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and in several municipalities and villages in Quebec.
The Accès Sages-femmes Baie-des-Chaleurs and Accès Sages-femmes Côte-de-Gaspé collectives are mobilizing to maintain services in the Baie-des-Chaleurs and to obtain them in the Côte-de-Gaspé, but also so that these services respond to the specificities of a large territory.
Although actions at different levels are underway in different regions, the situation of equitable access to services cannot be resolved without concrete actions on the shortage of midwives.
It’s urgent
To continue to provide services to families and increase their access, we need rapid and significant changes.
We believe that the objective must be equitable access, which implies thoughtful and concerted development based on a serious exercise in workforce planning.
And this week, what is urgent is the positive outcome of the negotiations: the families are asking, together with the midwives, that the government financially recognize the great availability of midwives, because it is at the heart of family demand!
Then, it will remain to better recognize the studies, to value the professional autonomy as well as the interprofessional collaboration. It is urgent, we are waiting for concrete results!