Associate Professor Saraswathi Vedam
A group co-led by Saraswathi Vedam, an Associate Professor in the Division of Midwifery, has received $160,000 from the Vancouver Foundation to identify the factors that prevent or facilitate women’s use of midwifery services in British Columbia.
Vedam, along with lead co-investigator Ganga Jolicoeur, the Executive Director of the Midwives Association of B.C., will use a series of forums and meetings, including focus groups, to determine why use of midwives is not equally distributed across the B.C. population. Those factors include patient experience, public awareness, and regional availability.
“Midwifery care has been shown to result in excellent maternal and newborn outcomes while reducing the use of costly interventions, but the factors that affect demand for and access to midwives in BC are unknown,” Vedam says. “We’re very pleased the grant from Vancouver Foundation will enable us to work with women to develop sustainable solutions to maternity care access issues.”
The project, “Why Midwifery Care? Women exploring access to high quality maternity care,” involves the Midwives Association of B.C., Women in2 Healing, and the Immigrant Services Society of B.C. The Vancouver Foundation’s two-year grant was made to the BC Women’s Foundation, which supports BC Women’s Hospital.
Two community consultations, which preceded the awarding of the grant, revealed that women appreciated the emphasis on shared decision-making in the midwifery model of care. But other midwifery clients said they felt stigmatized when their choices were perceived to be in conflict with the community standard of care.
Findings from the study will be used to develop a knowledge translation plan aimed at improving access to high-quality maternity services, particularly among underserved and vulnerable women.
Last year, the Province of British Columbia allocated funds to expand double enrolment in the UBC Midwifery Education Program.