General information
Midwives are health professionals who offer a global follow-up during pregnancy, the birth and for up to 6 weeks after the birth.
Eligibility for these services is managed by a regulation on cases, requiring a consultation with a physician or a transfer of clinical responsibility to a physician. A first appointment is made with the midwife in order to analyse the woman's state of health and evaluate eligibility for the services. Some 85% of women are eligible to be followed by a midwife and, if not, they are referred directly to a physician.
The midwives' profession is governed by a professional order, the Ordre des sages-femmes du Québec. Training is university level and deals with the physiological process of the pregnancy, the birth, the post-natal follow-up and situations which require a consultation or transfer to a medical team. Midwives are also trained to respond to emergency situations for both the mother as well as the baby.
The CISSS de la Montérégie-Center has been offering midwifery services since September 2011 and has the first birth center in Montérégie on its territory!
Work is underway to have other midwifery services and other birth centers in the Montérégie-Est and Montérégie-Ouest territories.
See the following pages for more information: