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NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The GNWT should employ midwives in Hay River, Inuvik, Behchoko and Yellowknife as part of a community-based model for birthing care, according to a report prepared for the Department of Health and Social Services.

After Yellowknife's midwifery program was suspended last spring, more than 30 people protested outside the legislative assembly. A recently released report for the Department of Health and Social Services has recommended services be reinstated in Yellowknife and added to Hay River, Inuvik and Behchoko. - NNSL file photo

In the midwifery options report, prepared by DPRA Consultants, a community-based model was determined to be the most cost effective and culturally appropriate. It would reduce the need to evacuate low-risk women in other health facilities, reduce the amount of time they spend outside their communities and increase the potential for improved health outcomes.

"Evidence suggests that evacuation for low-risk women may contribute to postpartum depression and increased rates of maternal and newborn complications," the report read. "On the other hand, the return of birth to the community supports cultural revitalization, self-determination and enhanced familial and community relationships."

The review also looked at a regional model, which would see midwives stationed in Inuvik, Norman Wells, Fort Simpson and Behchoko, and a territorial model, which would see eight midwives working in Yellowknife.

The Department of Health and Social Services will consider the report's findings as it updates its integrated service delivery model, said Kim Riles, a senior nursing consultant with the department.

Any changes they decide on will have to wait to be factored into next year's budget, she added.

"The department is in the midst of reviewing the report and will be making plans to go forward as far as what our next steps will be," Riles said.

Janet Kanayok, mayor of Ulukhaktok, travelled to Inuvik in 2010 to give birth and said -- like most other women in the community -- she would have preferred to stay at home and be supported by her family.

"It's stressful. I didn't want to go," she said. "I wanted to have her here, but it's just safer to have her in the hospital."

Most women from Ulukhaktok travel to the Inuvik Regional Hospital a month before their due date, where births are physician-led, and stay there until after they give birth.

On rare occasions women stay in the Victoria Island community and give birth with the help of the local nurse and family members. Afterwards, they are medevaced to Inuvik to ensure the delivery was safe and the baby is healthy.

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