Is Natural Birth A Luxury in Canada? - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Is Natural Birth A Luxury in Canada?

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Presentation about accessibility of doula and midwifery care for underprivileged and marginalized women in Canada. – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Is Natural Birth A Luxury in Canada?


1
Is Natural Birth A Luxury in Canada?
2
  • Asking the Question
  • Rivka Cymbalist, BA, CD(DONA)
  • Director, Montreal Birth Companions
  • montrealbirthcompanions_at_gmail.org

3
Montreal Birth Companions
  • is a registered charity that has provided free
    doula services for women in need since 2004. We
    believe that all women should have the right to
    prenatal education and informed choice during
    their childbearing year, wherever they are from,
    whatever their circumstances, whatever they can
    pay.

4
  • Our clients are refugees, refugee claimants,
    recent immigrants, non-status women, and other
    marginalized women.

5
  • This population NEEDS midwife-assisted,
    woman-centered care.

6
Grace
  • came to us from a country in Africa. She was an
    orphan. When her uncle raped her, she decided to
    flee. She worked as a prostitute to make money
    for her flight. She arrived here pregnant and was
    granted refugee status.

7
  • Grace had a vaginal birth in a hospital with a
    family physician and a doula.
  • She went home after 24 hours with no postpartum
    support and did not know about changing diapers.
    Her baby developed a UTI and was hospitaized.

8
Lynette
  • lived here for 12 years working illegally as a
    domestic. When she got pregnant, her employers
    told her to leave. She moved to a friends couch
    and tried to find prenatal care.

9
  • Lynette had patchy prenatal care due to the cost.
  • She had a doula who accompanied her to the
    hospital, where her labor was disturbed by
    repeated requests for payment.
  • Lynette gave birth by C-section for failure to
    progress and left the hospital AMA early so as to
    avoid paying extra.

10
Fatima
  • came here on a visa with restricted health care.
  • She had two children, and had very fast labors.
  • The hospital she contacted wanted a deposit of
    ten thousand dollars.

11
  • Fatima didnt know midwives were available in
    Canada.
  • Fatima gave birth on her own, at home, while her
    husband took the children to a neighbors place.

12
  • Marginalized women women without healthcare
    women without homes or partners, have a great
    need for a good birth experience. Cesarean birth
    is expensive and requires longer recovery time.
    Birth trauma can lead to postpartum depression.

13
Numbers
  • From July 2012 to July 2013, 24 MBC clients gave
    birth vaginally.
  • During that same period, 10 MBC clients gave
    birth by cesarean section.
  • And four women gave birth prematurely (under 34
    weeks).
  • The average cesarean section rate for MBC clients
    over the past ten years hovers at 40.

14
  • Midwives for everyone? In Quebec, only a small
    fraction of women who WANT a midwife can actually
    FIND one.
  • Women who cannot find a registered midwife are
    paying up to 2500 for an unregistered (illegal)
    one.

15
  • in Montreal, 4 women out of 5 can't get a
    midwife, Midwives are assisting about 3 of
    births in Quebec.
  • Claudia Faille, president, RSFQ, personal
    communication.

16
Let Them Hire Doulas!
  • Doulas in the major centers in Canada can cost
    from 300 to 1400.
  • MBC clients often cant afford to buy a used
    winter coat. Does that mean they dont deserve a
    natural birth?
  • A volunteer birth companion is free if there is a
    program in the community. And if the marginalized
    pregnant woman can find her.

17
What to do Baby Steps
  • Can you donate any time to working pro bono?
  • Do you have a quota system in place in your
    practice for women without health insurance?
  • Do you have resources for this population Which
    are the cheapest hospitals? Where are there cheap
    clinics for blood tests and other exams?
  • Do you support a volunteer doula organization in
    your area?

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