B.C. midwives to receive wage increase, more support for Indigenous midwifery

Midwives in B.C. are going to see an increase in their wages and benefits, after an agreement between the Midwives Association of British Columbia (MABC) and the province was ratified Friday morning.

The tentative three-year agreement is effective in B.C. until March 2025. According to Lehe Spiegelman, co-chair of the MABC, B.C. has the highest rate of midwifery-involved births in Canada.

“Midwives play an essential role in our health-care system, and reaching an agreement means midwives can continue focusing on the needs of their patients,” said  Minister of Health Adrian Dix. “The agreement offers long-term supports to midwives and will be transformative in helping grow the profession so more pregnant women and families in B.C. can benefit from their services.”

Part of this agreement includes a commitment by the Ministry of Health to provide $2.5 million in renewable funding through the Indigenous Maternity Planning Committee. This recently created committee aims to decolonize birth and develop services informed by the Nations and communities they serve.

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According to the National Council of Indigenous Midwives (NCIM), access to primary care around maternity and maternal-child care has been compromised as a result of colonization. It says more Indigenous midwives help expensive medical evacuations related to birth in remote regions become less frequent.

“Indigenous Midwifery care is a pathway that supports the regeneration of strong Indigenous families by bringing birth closer to home—by restoring the emphasis on birth as normal, rather than approaching it as an illness in need of treatment,” NCIM states on its website.

Besides a wage increase, the new agreement includes developing the first-ever comprehensive health benefits package for midwives in B.C., a parental leave increase, and increased compensation for midwives performing home births.

This announcement builds upon previous decisions made by the B.C. government to expand the number of available seats in the University of British Columbia’s midwifery program to 48, through the Health Human Resources Strategy.