The number of home births in Manitoba is limited by the number of Registered Midwives in the province. The average number of home births in the last three years is 41.3, but many more women would choose to have their babies born at home if that option was available to them. 

Registered Midwife Veronica Reimer

Veronica Reimer is a Registered Midwife in Steinbach, she says there are between 50 and 55 midwives practicing in the province, and most of them are in the Winnipeg area. In the Steinbach area we have about 5, but given the number of requests for a midwife, Reimer says, ideally we could have somewhere around 200.

Reimer says, in Manitoba, consistently about 50% of women who request a midwife aren't able to access one. When midwifery was implemented in our province in 1999, Reimer notes it was recommended each midwife take care of 30-40 primary cases per year.

Reimer notes, midwives don't just deliver babies at home, they provide care in hospitals too. "In the last six years there has been a definite increase in home births than in previous years, we are sitting steadily at about 29% of women we look after are choosing a home birth. Prior to that, it could be due to capacity."

Kristie Brandt from Steinbach says she and her husband Trevor chose to have a home birth for each of their two children, because they knew people with positive home birth experiences. Brandt says, "I did a lot of research, and there were several reasons for us to choose a home birth. It's very peaceful to labour at home, there's nobody else, just me, my husband, and the midwife."

Brandt adds, she didn't have to travel while in labour or concern herself with other people coming and going as in a hospital setting. She adds, she wasn't worried about the risks of having a home birth for either of her two pregnancies. "Midwives are highly trained and are with you through your labour. If something is going wrong, they actually recognize it a lot sooner than somebody in the hospital, because they are present in the room all the time."

Brandt notes you have to call the Southeast Midwifery office and apply for a midwife as soon as you have a positive pregnancy test. Because the midwives were very busy, Brandt says she was initially declined a midwife for her second pregnancy. “It was a big blessing for me when they called me back and said they would have room for me.”

"Midwives take care of everything," says Brandt, "After birth, they check on you every day for the first three days, then every week until you are up to it, then you go to their office. So all of your post-natal care is with them until about six weeks, when they discharge you to your family doctor."

Read More: Fewer Births In Region Last Year