AHS increases access to midwifery services

Alberta Health Services says it has reached a deal that will lead to more midwives and more midwifery-assisted births.

The government says the three-year agreement with the Alberta Association of Midwives will also increase access to midwifery services in small urban, rural and Indigenous communities.

Midwives provide the full scope of maternal and newborn care, from prenatal to labour and delivery, and through the post-partum period.

Nicole Matheson, president of the association, says the deal will mean better support for pregnant women to freely choose where, how, and with whom they birth.