Maternity Care

Health care reforms are both beneficial and detrimental to women as providers and recipients of health care. One area that frequently gets missed in discussions, despite being such a fundamental aspect of health care for many women, is the effects of reforms in maternity care. It would seem that pregnancy and childbirth are so ordinary that public discourse has not paid attention to maternity care in debates and discussions about primary health care.

Canada is fortunate to have many excellent maternity care providers who are committed to ensuring women receive safe, supportive and competent care. The fact remains however that the maternity care system is approaching a crisis because of the shortage of providers and because women across the country continue to describe a system that fails to meet their physical, mental and emotional needs, and that women find their access impeded by hospital closures and the shortage of practitioners.

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