Midwifery as an Option of Care for All Albertans
IT IS THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT Alberta Municipalities advocate for the Government of Alberta to develop a comprehensive midwifery strategy that focuses on retention, increased access province wide, and funding that follows the patient for a more well-rounded course of care by giving midwives more autonomy over the structure of midwifery care.
WHEREAS Alberta has yet to provide client-centered access to midwifery care for all Albertans, regardless of culture or region;
WHEREAS it is imperative that Albertans be informed of their options for midwifery[1], its safety and exceptional standards of care;
WHEREAS the tools used for predicting demand in Alberta are ineffective for quantifying overall demand;
WHEREAS we must prioritize more courses of care and increase hospital delivery access for midwives;
WHEREAS the current Alberta Midwifery Strategy does not prioritize provision for rural courses of care for all Albertans to have their preference of provider or provide incentives to retain midwives in Alberta[2];
WHEREAS Alberta needs to prioritize funding more courses of midwifery care to benefit from tax savings and midwifery care will help Alberta achieve world renowned total prenatal care; and
WHEREAS we need to allow midwives to adjust and choose how they deliver care to reduce burn out of midwives (e.g., switch to daytime shifts, post-partum follow-ups, etc. when needed due to health or age).
[1] Alberta Health Services’ description of midwife services
[2]Health Sciences Association | Recruitment and Retention Initiatives Extended
3 Rural Health Services Review Final Report (alberta.ca), p. 1, Rural Health Services Review Committee, March 2015. Government of Alberta.
There is a lack of health care professionals, including midwives, which effects all Alberta communities. This issue is more prevalent outside of the major urban centres leading to staff burn out, dissatisfaction, premature retirement, and relocation to better staffed communities3.
Midwives provide holistic, person-centered care, emphasizing natural physiology and minimal intervention. Midwifery care can help reduce the burden on hospital systems, particularly for normal, low-risk pregnancies. In Alberta, midwives work collaboratively with other health providers and follow the Canadian Midwifery Model of Care, which emphasizes continuity of care, informed choice, and collaborative care. Providing full client-centered access to midwifery would:
- Reduce costs in course of care.
- Reduce unnecessary interventions leading to a cascade of unnecessary interventions, with the potential to reduce poor outcomes for both patients.
- Reduce the number of patients necessitating hospital beds, leading to less pressure on labour and delivery wards; more individualized care; reduce travel distance for patients to appointments or delivery.
- Reduce the demand for ambulance transports from rural areas.
- Create more business opportunities in both urban and rural municipalities for midwifery clinics, birthing centres, and mobile midwifery clinics.
- Allow obstetricians and gynecologists to focus more on emergent or urgent care cases.
Local efforts to attract and retain service providers may address immediate community concerns but fall short in tackling the broader challenge of addressing the overall scarcity of frontline professionals. Alberta currently funds education of midwives who then leave the province due to financial incentives and career or independent business opportunities. Alberta needs to consider creating a world-renowned midwifery care system that is client-centered and available to all Albertans by expanding Alberta’s midwifery programs.
Alberta’s current Midwifery Strategy acknowledges that access to midwifery services are limited in rural and remote communities but does not define initiatives for how that will be overcome.
On June 18, 2025, the World Health Organization called for global expansion of midwifery models of care.
In Alberta, all midwives must have delivery privileges through a hospital with a delivery unit. This can present a barrier for a midwife to open a clinic if approval is not granted by the hospital thereby, limiting expansion of the service in the region.
Providing midwifery as an option of care for all Albertans is important because it will improve healthcare by reducing the workload of obstetrical care physicians and nurses, which will also help reduce costs on the healthcare system. Ensuring Midwives can be accessed by all Albertans will help improve the viability and sustainability of our rural communities. The benefit to the Province would be higher cost savings, as more patients choose to access midwifery as their primary course of care.
Albertans must be informed and aware of midwifery as a safe option with hospital delivery possible and the demand exceeding midwifery courses of care. Alberta must increase data capture to show the demand of all Albertans seeking midwifery care by including those within one of the qualifying factors (region, urban, within service distance of midwives, within the first weeks of pregnancy). Currently those applying are only patients who know that they can qualify. Anyone outside of the parameters or that is unaware of midwifery as an option, are not being captured.
Alberta Municipalities does not currently have a position on this specific issue. If this resolution is approved, it will be forwarded to the Government of Alberta for response. Further advocacy will be determined by ABmunis’ Board based on input from ABmunis’ relevant policy committee within the context of ABmunis’ priorities and positions.