Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Jun 14/99) - More women around the Baffin may get to stay in their home communities to give birth.

That is, if the Baffin Regional Health and Social Services Board's ongoing study of pregnant women and their deliveries comes back with favourable results, says Dr. Chuck MacNeil, a career obstetrician and the director of medical affairs at the Baffin Regional Hospital.

"What we're going to do for the next six months is see whether the women who were listed as low-risk moms actually turned out to have simple, uncomplicated deliveries," said MacNeil.

Given that the study shows that low-risk mothers did actually have easy births, MacNeil said they would seriously look at decentralizing the process.

The issue first arose during a health board meeting in Ottawa earlier this year, when members asked MacNeil if it was possible for more births to take place in the communities where the women live. The trend in Canada over the last several decades has seen midwives and home deliveries decrease. In the interests of increased safety for mothers and babies, women in the Baffin region -- about 375 a year -- are sent to the hospital in Iqaluit. They are sent somewhere between the 36 and 38th week of gestation and remain until the birth of their child.

MacNeil said board members directed him to consider other options and, because the hospital currently has a comprehensive pre-natal evaluation program in place, it was relatively simple to begin to study if birth risk predictions held true.

"If we're going to suggest that a group of women could have the option of having their babies in the community, we want to be as sure as we possibly can that you're not putting either mom or baby at unnecessary risk."

MacNeil said community-based midwives would assist with the births in the hamlets. He also said the entire process would be less traumatic for the woman and for her family in that it would eliminate the amount of time she has to be away.

"The remoteness of the communities makes it extremely difficult because the dad can rarely avail himself to be there and the other siblings have been separated from their mom for many weeks."

As well as saving the health board some money on travel and accommodations for the expectant mothers, the decentralization of some of the births will make the experience more family-oriented.

"Birthing is something that I believe whole-heartedly that the more family involvement there is, the healthier it is for the long-term health and bonding of the family."