Midwives Responding to the Needs of Uninsured Clients: Old Order and New Immigrant Women in Midwifery Care Sages-femmes à la rescousse des clientes sans assurance: L’ancien régime et les nouvelles immigrantes dans le contexte des soins de pratique sage-femme

Abstract

The funding structure of midwifery in Ontario enables midwives to provide care to women without provincial health care coverage. This article explores midwives’ experiences in providing care to two key groups of women without provincial insurance: 1) women who lack coverage as a result of their precarious immigration status, and 2) women who opt out of publicly funded health insurance for religious reasons. Data from 15 interviews with midwives who serve these communities reveal several important themes that shape their experiences. Further, as midwives adapt their practice to work with communities of uninsured women, their goal of providing culturally competent midwifery care to more diverse groups of women becomes actualized.