Nova Scotia midwifery students worry about job prospects

Two Nova Scotiawomen in their fourth and final year of a midwifery program in Ontarioare hoping to work back east after their graduation this spring, but that's looking unlikely.

There areonly ten workingmidwives in Nova Scotia. Six of them work in Halifax for the IWK Health Centre, two are in Bridgewater, and twoare in Antigonish.

"It doesn't seem as if the government is making women's health a prioritywhich is really, really unfortunate,"said student JenniferNguyen. She began studying midwiferyatMcMasterUniversity in 2012.

There are a lot of families here who want midwifery care- Caitlin Blennerhassatt

The province set regulations for the profession six years ago and pays thesalaries and insurance for midwives.

Some women prefera midwife toa family doctor as they feel thepre- and post-natal care can be more seamless.Underother maternity-care health models, whichever health professional ison call treats women as they go into labour.

"The midwife that you see in your pregnancy, you will see them in the labour, and the birth and the post-partum," said Nguyen.

No plans to hire more midwives

In Nova Scotia, women in the Halifax area have the option of giving birth at home with midwives, as regulations require two midwives for home births. Home birth is also an option in Bridgewater but is not as common.

Women in the Annapolis Valley and Cape Breton have no midwives,even though some have protested this over the years.

CaitlinBlennerhassatt ofPictou Countyis a fourth-year classmate of Nguyen's. Most of her classmates will get jobs in Ontario and B.C.

She wants to practice midwifery in Nova Scotia.

"There are a lot of families here that want midwifery care," she said.

"I think if the government would come around to that idea and understand that midwives are beneficial for people who have low-risk pregnancies and obstetricians are beneficial for high-risk pregnancies, then that would letmany midwives come home."

The Nova Scotia Health Authority has no plans to expand the number of midwives working in the province.