Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Nov 07/01) - The Kivalliq Regional Birthing Centre in Rankin Inlet is perilously close to a crisis situation.

A premature resignation has left the centre with only two midwives and a maternity care worker on staff.

Another term will be up Dec. 9, leaving midwife Samantha Schuster and maternity care worker Nowyah Williams as the only staff members.

Williams says staffing has been a problem since the beginning of the birthing centre program.

"It's difficult to recruit people to come to the North," says Williams.

"It's also hard to retain them because it's a very stressful working environment being almost constantly on call."

On average, there are about 120 visits to the birthing centre every month.

Williams says the centre requires four midwives so shifts can be set up on a rotational basis.

She says that would help greatly in reducing some of the "burnout syndrome" at the centre.

"We had two births take place on the same day recently and the midwives were also supposed to run the clinic the next day.

"They couldn't because they were up all night with the births.

"These are the types of problems that can only be solved by having enough staff."

Schuster says recruitment for the birthing centre is not being done on a proactive basis.

"It's takes four or five months to hire a midwife," says Schuster.

"The recruitment process should be started at least five months before a vacancy and it just isn't happening that way."

The birthing centre began operating as a pilot project in October 1993.

It was evaluated by the University of Ottawa's faculty of nursing during parts of 1995 and '96.

It was upgraded to a program in 1996 and then a regional program in May 2000.

Schuster says you need two midwives at every birth.

She says it's not reasonable to be doing births with just one.

"To have a regional birthing centre, we need at least three midwives.

"It will be very difficult, if not impossible, for us with only one midwife and one maternity care worker.

"We need more staff and that's all there is to it."