Our role in people's care commences at conception, so as soon as people find out they're pregnant, they're welcomed into our midwifery practice. Most people meet their midwife at seven or eight weeks of pregnancy, and then we maintain that involvement until six weeks postpartum. Our mandate is to care both for mothers and newborns until six weeks postpartum.
Yes, you're right, it does involve more than just the provision of hands-on care. It's a unique relationship. Without going beyond our scope of practice, we're not counsellors; however, we do end up being advocates for assisting our clients to find services, particularly during COVID when there has been a significant impact on people's mental health and their feelings of safety around where they're giving birth, who's taking care of them, how many people are they being exposed to, all of those pieces.
I think midwifery has serviced very well by having a small team of one or two midwives taking care of somebody, as opposed to saying it's shift change and this is the next nurse who's going to take care of you, or it's shift change and this is the next obstetrician who's going to take care of you.