News & Events

The midwifery education program (MEP) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Ryerson’s midwifery program started when the profession became provincially regulated 20 years ago. Ontario was the first province in Canada to regulate the profession in 1994, resulting in a consortium of three universities creating education programs: Ryerson, McMaster and Laurentian. Ryerson’s first student cohort entered the program in fall 1993.

“There was a huge groundswell of support from midwifery clients in the push for midwifery regulation.” said Mary Sharpe, director of Ryerson’s midwifery education program.

With regulation, midwives became publicly funded, autonomous primary caregivers for women during pregnancy and delivery, and for women and babies up to six weeks postpartum. They were able to apply for hospital privileges and care for women choosing both hospital and home births. All care, from pre-natal to after birth, is done through the midwife. Most provinces and territories in Canada now regulate midwifery and uphold the Ontario model that is recognized internationally. The model is based on three fundamental beliefs: continuity of care; choice of birthplace; and informed choice.

“We advocate for women,” Sharpe said. “Care is individualized and responsive to each particular women’s needs.”

Sharpe says attention to health disparities and the social determinants of health is a huge influence in midwifery. There’s a strong emphasis in the program on social justice and equity. Midwifery practices are purposely situated where women are underserviced, such as in Regent Park where the Riverdale Community Midwives is located.

In March 2012, former premier Dalton McGuinty was on campus to announce the creation of two midwifery-led birthing centres in Ontario, giving low-risk women more choice about where they can deliver their babies. Sharpe says this increases opportunities for both pregnant women and students.

“This now gives women three choices of where to give birth: at home, in the hospital or at a birthing centre,” she said. “Birthing centres will also help provide placements for midwifery students.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary, last weekend, the program hosted an art exhibit of works produced by midwifery and early childhood education students that emerged from the MEP course,  Birth and Its Meanings. May 5 is International Midwives Day and the Ryerson midwifery students are planning a family dance party in the Atrium of the George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre.

Sharpe says 29 students are graduating this year – the largest class so far, including four aboriginal students. Along with the autonomy of midwifery, building relationships is at the core of the profession.

“We still work as part of a health-care interprofessional team,” Sharpe said. “I love that midwifery lives in the Faculty of Community Services (FCS). Our main emphasis is social activism and community services. We feel allied with the other schools in FCS.”

MEP student Jill Parsons is an upcoming graduate. She says the practical experience in the program is essential for preparing students to be midwives. She’s attended close to 100 births and has been hired by a clinic in Toronto to continue her training as a new registrant midwife.

“It’s a challenging program and it asks a lot of its students but I wouldn’t want to attend my first birth as a practicing midwife and feel as though I’d glided through four years of training without breaking a sweat,” Parsons said. “There are a lot of exciting things happening right now including the opening of two new birth centres in the province so it’s a great time to be joining the profession.”