Women Look for Midwifery Reimbursement
by Stephanie Waddell
Two local women have submitted invoices to the Yukon government for a reimbursement of the money they paid to have a midwife oversee their childrens’ birth, rather than a doctor.
“It should be funded,” Asheya Hennessy, who last year formed the Yukoners for Funded Mid-wifery group, said in an interview this morning. “It is a primary health care service.”
Hennessy has chosen to use a mid-wife for the birth of her second child, while Desiree Pinkerton went to a mid-wife for the birth of her first baby.
Both sent letters and invoices in to Health and Social Services Minster Brad Cathers on Friday requesting reimbursements for the bills this year.
Hennessy said she requested reimbursement for the $2,500 service because it is an important part of health care in the country with numerous other regions, including Ontario, B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories funding it as part of the health care system.
“It is so good for women,” she said.
While the government is looking at regulating mid-wifery in the territory, it is not funded.
Hennessy expects the territorial government will argue against funding until regulations are in place, which could take a couple of years.
As she noted though, Nunavut is devising regulations, but is also funding mid-wife care as part of the health care system.
She, Pinkerton and local mid-wife Christina Kaiser all stressed in separate interviews the mid-wife approach to births is based on informed choice, with the mid-wife pointing to the options and the risks and consequences associated.
One of the biggest differences Hennessy has noticed in dealing with a mid-wife compared to a doctor is that her mid-wife comes to her house for appointments instead of having to go to an office.
“I don’t have to wait,” Hennessy said.
Once the mid-wife is there, Hennessy is able to go over anything on her mind and ask questions, with her mid-wife taking the time to answer and point to Hennessy’s choices in various matters such as what tests to have and so on.
“A woman feels cared for,” she said.
With Hennessy just sending out the letter and invoice on Friday, she noted a week or two for Cathers to reply is fairly reasonable.
Pinkerton chose to go with a mid-wife’s care over a doctor for the birth of her daughter after speaking to a number of women who praised the care they received from midwives during their pregnancies.
Originally from Ontario, where it’s covered by health care, she soon learned it was not the same case in the Yukon.
“I was initially shocked that it wasn’t funded,” Pinkerton said.
That prompted discussions with her husband about whether they would pay for the services of a mid-wife.
After meeting local mid-wife Heather Ashthorn, Pinkerton said she put her “foot down.” She decided to pay for the birthing services that would enable her to make choices that worked best for her, such as giving birth in a hot tub at home, and make her feel confident in those choices.
Sending her invoice into Cathers was an opportunity to make a point that funding should be provided regardless of whether there are regulations in place and that process should be speeding up.
Kaiser has seen some women consider using a mid-wife for the birth of their child, only to opt out once they learn they must pay for it themselves.
“Of course it’s an issue,” she said, before noting that women who are determined to use a mid-wife’s services usually find a way to do so.
Hennessy and Kaiser argued there are flexible payment plans established for each patient, but it still remains a barrier for some women, especially Canadians who are accustomed to primary health care being funded by government.
Patients from Haines, Alaska, for example, are usually more willing to pay for Kaiser’s services, and it is usually cheaper to use a mid-wife than a doctor if a patient isn’t covered.
Kaiser would like to see her services available to all women, but with funding comes the issue of regulations.
If funding was to be provided without regulations, Kaiser would like to see it funded immediately.
Kaiser is part of the committee looking at regulations with the Yukon government, but that process is only at the first step of questioning whether regulations are needed.
Though becoming regulated could have advantages in terms of the industry being able to get insurance, Kaiser noted there could also be disadvantages in that with regulations, there are often restrictions.
“(Right now) we can do whatever we want,” she said of providing options for clients. “We do what our clients want.”
In other regions, however, there are restrictions such as no home births for women who have had Caesarian sections in the past.
In the Yukon’s case, Kaiser can tell her clients who have had Caesarian sections the risks involved in a home birth, leaving that choice up to the client, she noted.
“Mid-wifery is about informed choice,” she reiterated.
Cathers did not respond to the Star’s request for an interview on the subject this morning.
