National Midwife Day gets unanimous support in Parliament

Today, NDP MP Rosane Doré Lefebvre’s (Alfred-Pellan) Private Member’s Bill, An Act Respecting a National Day of the Midwife (C-608), received all-party support at its 2nd reading vote in the House of Commons.

“I am proud that we received the unanimous support of the House for this bill, which aims to spread public awareness about the contribution of midwives to the health and well-being of mothers and their newborns. This is yet another step in the creation of a nationally recognized day that we hope will help enable further access to midwife services in Canada,” said Doré Lefebvre.

Despite being an essential component of maternity care, access to midwives is still limited in many regions of the country. In Aboriginal communities, midwives play a key role in narrowing the gap between the care received by Aboriginal women and that provided to non-Aboriginals. By acknowledging their contributions, we can improve maternal health care across Canada.

Doré Lefebvre has proudly championed the work begun by Peggy Nash (Parkdale – High Park), which would designate May 5 of each year as National Day of the Midwife.

“I would like to thank the Canadian Association of Midwives, the Regroupement des sages-femmes du Québec, the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives, and the Mieux Naître organization in Laval for their help promoting this bill. Together, we can improve maternal health care,” added Doré Lefebvre.