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News Release - Manitoba

April 30, 2014

Province Announces Newly Designed Midwifery Program to Launch Fall of 2015

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Program will Strengthen Training, Support Building a Strong Midwifery Workforce: Minister Allum

University College of the North (UCN) is working with the University of Manitoba (U of M) to launch the new bachelor of midwifery program for 2015, Education and Advanced Learning Minister James Allum announced today.

“This program has been built from the ground up right here in Manitoba and by partnering with the
U of M, UCN will continue to provide positive educational opportunities for those wishing to become midwives, which will grow the midwifery workforce in the province,” said Minister Allum.  “We know more and more moms are seeking the care of a midwife and by training more, we’ll be helping families get better access to this specialized care.”

The new program is being designed collaboratively between UCN and the U of M, and will include a four-year bachelor of midwifery degree.  Once the new program is up and running, enrolment is expected to exceed the current 10-seat capacity.  Applicants who have already applied to UCN but have not been accepted will be contacted first with admission information on the new program when it’s available.   

“UCN is committed to developing a strong program and over the next year, we are pleased to be working with the U of M to launch this new program in the fall of 2015 to help train more midwives in the province,” said Jim Scott, director of communications, UCN.  

The minister noted that significant progress is being made to address the supply of midwives in the province and provide more birthing options for Manitoba families.  In 1999, there were no funded midwife positions in Manitoba.  Now there are 54 midwife positions with about half in rural and northern Manitoba.  Through proactive recruitment and retention of midwives, including graduates from the UCN program, there are now more midwives employed in Manitoba than ever before, with many more expected to begin practice in Manitoba in the coming year, Minister Allum said.

He also said the continued development of a strong midwifery workforce in Manitoba complements other provincial investments to support maternal and newborn health including construction of the new state-of-the-art Women’s Hospital currently underway at the Health Sciences Centre and opening of the Birth Centre in 2011.

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