Provincial Midwifery Strategy: A Toolkit for Manitoba

Abstract

The development of this toolkit was inspired and driven by a number of factors including a lack of integration and expansion of midwifery services, ongoing misconceptions and lack of knowledge around the professions, recent changes in College of Midwives of Manitoba standards, and the creation of a provincial consultant in midwifery position. The purpose of this toolkit is to provide guidance to Service Delivery Organisations (SDOs) such as Regional Health Authorities looking to implement, expand or modify services provided by midwives in order to meet a variety of community health needs. The intent is to provide context, information and resources to help SDOs understand the midwifery scope of practice, provide guidance on type of work organisation structures, and clarify the roles of various stakeholders. Suggestions for how midwives may meet community needs are included, with numerous examples of similar programs operating in Canada. Links to relevant resources including websites and journal articles are provided throughout the document. Whenever possible, links to full-text articles are provided.