Fort McMurray has a shortage of midwives. In fact there are not any of these professionals in the region who are registered in Wood Buffalo. This is a cause for concern, both to the local community and to medical professionals in the area. The province of Alberta recently announced provincial funding designed to boost midwife services, but since Fort McMurray does not have any midwives the region could miss out on this funding. A group of advocates are hoping to change this, and they are trying a different approach to try and resolve the problem. The idea is to fly in qualified midwives as a temporary measure until a permanent clinic can be arranged in the region. According to Christine Burton “Setting up a new midwifery practice is a bit of a complicated process. We’re not quite sure how that’s going to work out, but we’re certainly looking at options, and one of those options is to fly midwives in and out.”

The lack of available midwives in Fort MacMurray is a big concern, especially since there is also a limitation on OB/GYN practitioners in the area as well. Health Minister Sarah Hoffman discussed the issue and stated “It’s vital that we start to move towards a system that allows for more choice for women. And we are working to ensure that health, community, and social supports are closely intertwined so that moms have options to support their babies being delivered safely.” Funding for midwives occurs on a per birth basis, which is a different funding model than what is used for actual physicians.