Alberta midwife funding applauded by maternity network

Extra funding from the province for midwifery will provide short-term relief for families looking for birthing alternatives, according to an Alberta midwives group.

Misti McFarlane, withthe Maternity Care Consumers of Alberta Network, said there are midwives in the province who can take on extra cases.

"A midwife can take on 40 primary clients and many of them are not operating at that level," she said, adding some midwives are currently taking on as few as10 a year.

• Alberta to fund more births using midwives

The extra $1.8 million in funding, announced Tuesday, means the province will pay for 400 extra courses of care until the end of the fiscal year, allowing up to 2,700 families to hire a midwife.

McFarlane said there are between 700 and 800 women on waiting lists for a midwife in Alberta.

Alberta has publicly funded midwifery care since 2009.