Midwives Have the Model of Care that Brings the Best Outcomes

This Canadian study shows that low-income women and babies benefit from Midwifery care.

“Across the board, in all outcomes, women were doing better in the care of midwives,” Daphne McRae, a post-doctoral research fellow at UBC and the study’s lead author, said in an interview with CBC Radio’s Saskatoon Morning.

As a matter of fact, all women benefit from care that promotes a healthy pregnancy and care that is given from the heart. Be it Midwife or Obstetrician, the Midwifery Model of Care has been proven time and again to be the model we should all use.

Low-risk women are considered the women for whom Midwives should care but many times, low-income, high-risk women are cared for by Midwives. This happens because the places that give care to this group of women are often very underfunded. “Inexpensive” Midwifery care fills the void. These women also have better outcomes when the Midwifery Model of Care is employed (Source).

The World Health Organization calls for Midwives in both 3^rd and 1^st World Nations.

Midwives are a pillar of reproductive health programmes and it is crucial to understand their role in the health system and support them, says McConville. “These workers are proud to be midwives; you don’t go into midwifery if you don’t want to help other women. There is an element of love here. We are clinicians, but this is about loving and caring for other women, their babies and their families at a very special time in their lives” (Source). 

The British Medical Journal, The Lancet

The midwifery model of care and support by trained doulas are two strategies that have a demonstrated track record of improving maternity care outcomes, enhancing women’s experience of and engagement in care, and reducing spending on unnecessary medical procedures and complications (Source).

Applying the core principles of Midwifery to all Obstetric care is possible. But the first step is acknowledging Midwives as the best care providers for normal pregnancy, birth and postpartum. We have to start loving our clients and caring for them like they are our own family.