Merci. Good morning, honourable members.
Let me begin by thanking you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. I practise obstetrics and gynaecology in Medicine Hat, Alberta, and I'm the proud president of the society. I'm joined today by Dr. André Lalonde, who is the executive vice-president of our society.
Our mission is to promote excellence in the practice of obstetrics and gynaecology and to advance the health of women in Canada and around the world through leadership, advocacy, collaboration, outreach, and education. We represent over 3,000 obstetricians and gynaecologists, family physicians, midwives, nurses, and other health professionals from across Canada. I consider it a privilege to be here today to speak with you about an issue of tremendous importance to our membership and I believe to all Canadians: the issue of maternal and child health, and in particular the need for a birthing strategy for Canada.
Let me explain. I think it will surprise you to learn that the OECD statistics show that where Canada once ranked second in the world in maternal health, suggesting an extremely high quality of maternity care, we have now slipped to 11th. Our statistics on infant mortality are even more disturbing, with Canada falling from 6th to 21st place. More women and more babies are not surviving pregnancy and childbirth. We know that part of the reason is the decrease in human resources in the field of obstetrics, and here is a snapshot of the challenges on our horizon: there are diminishing numbers of obstetricians and gynaecologists in practice; there are fewer family physicians willing to deliver babies; and our hospitals, and indeed our health care system, are not equipped culturally or administratively to embrace a collaborative care model where all disciplines associated with pregnancy and childbirth work together on behalf of moms and babies.
SOGC believes part of the solution lies in identifying our strengths and weaknesses through accurate information so that we can develop effective response plans. We cannot tell you how many obstetricians and gynaecologists are currently in practice in Canada; we cannot tell you if they are full-time, part-time, doing research, or teaching. We could estimate, but estimating isn't good enough when assessing our capacity to care for mothers and babies now and especially in the decade ahead. We do know that in five years, 30% of obstetricians and gynaecologists in Canada will retire from full-time practice. Others will streamline their practice to include only gynaecology.
In a society where information technology routinely assists us in just about every aspect of our lives, we must develop tools to ensure that we know which hospitals in Canada are providing obstetrical services, if the level of care is meeting the expectations and needs of Canadian mothers and families, and who is available to provide the service. We can do this, but we need your help.
We also know that we are not meeting the needs of mothers and babies in rural and remote communities. These women are routinely evacuated from their homes, their families, their communities, and often their culture and support systems, so that they can be assured appropriate care during childbirth. Imagine being 35 or 36 weeks pregnant and having to leave all that you know and love behind and travel elsewhere for, arguably, the most important time and event of your life. Sometimes these separations are for as long as eight weeks. Why do we do this? Because right now we have to. There is a serious lack of services within rural and remote communities to care for women during childbirth. Smaller community hospitals are being closed and local options have not replaced them. We can fix this, but it needs political will and leadership.
Finally, let me talk about mothers around the world. Each year, 530,000 women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, most often from well-known and easily treatable complications, in fact the kinds of complications that are routinely and successfully addressed here in Canada during the course of childbirth. Ninety-five percent of these maternal deaths occur in low-resource countries. The grim reality is that despite medical and technological advances, the global rate of maternal mortality has not improved in decades. Women do not die because of lack of knowledge about how to treat their complications, but there is a lack of political will to save them. At SOGC, we have in our mission as an organization a deep commitment to women's health everywhere. Canada is a nation well positioned to make a difference to help save the lives of thousands of women.
The SOGC has tabled a brief with this committee that includes a call to action. First and foremost, we wish to adopt and resource a birthing strategy for Canada; second, honour Canada's pledge of investing 0.7% of gross national income in official development assistance; and third, commit $30 million a year, as a Canadian-led safe motherhood and newborn health strategy, to help our world meet the millennium development goal on maternal health.
Thank you for your time and attention. Dr. Lalonde and I would be pleased to answer any questions.