Midwives applaud home birth law

The Quebec government is changing a law so that mothers-to-be will be able to give birth at home with the help of a midwife.

Expectant mothers have been able to get help from a midwife for more than a decade in Quebec.

But the births could only take place in hospitals and birthing centres.

This week the province announced it was changing the law to allow midwives to help mothers give birth in their own homes.

Raymonde Gagnon, the president of the province's midwifery association, applauded the news, saying that parents have the choice to give birth where they feel most comfortable.

The new regulations take into account safety concerns raised by doctors over the years.

Midwives will have to ensure the home is safe and easily accessible to ambulances.

Gagnon said the experience in other provinces has proven that midwives can handle the responsibility.

In Ontario, midwives perform more than 2,000 home births every year.