A registered midwife must follow the College of Midwives of Ontario’s (CMO) philosophy of midwifery care, as well as standards of care.
Midwives in Ontario promote normal birth and provide client-focused care. The following statements provide a framework to the philosophy of midwifery care practiced in Ontario:
- Midwives view pregnancy and childbirth as a healthy and normal physiological process and a profound event in a woman’s life.
- Midwives respect and support their clients so that they may give birth safely, with power and dignity.
- Midwives respect the diversity of women’s needs and the variety of personal and cultural meanings that individuals, families, and communities bring to the pregnancy, birth, and early parenting experience.
- Midwives promote optimal health throughout the childbearing cycle and maintain a focus on preventative care.
- Midwives encourage women to actively participate in their care throughout pregnancy, birth and postpartum period and to make choice choices about the manner in which their care is provided.
- Midwives provide education and counselling to support women making informed choices.
- Midwives promote decision-making as a shared responsibility between the client, her family (as defined by the woman) and her caregivers. The client is recognized as the primary decision maker.
- Midwives provide care that is continuous, personalized, and non-authoritarian.
- Midwives provide care that is responsive to women’s social, emotional, cultural, and physical needs.
- Midwives respect women’s right to choice of caregiver and place of birth and attend births in a variety of settings, including home, hospital, and birth centre.
- Midwives support the appropriate use of technology as required in the provision of midwifery care.
- Midwives regard the interests of the woman and the fetus as compatible. They focus their care on the mother to obtain the best outcomes for the woman and her newborn.