Midwife services returning to Selkirk

The Manitoba government is expanding midwife services in Manitoba’s Interlake region.

For the first time in decades, Interlake families wanting to give birth with a midwife won’t have to travel out of their health region to do it.

Two full-time midwife positions have been created for the Interlake region. Premier Wab Kinew and Health, Seniors, and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara made the announcement Monday at Selkirk Regional Health Centre.

“This is about you and your family going through that journey of pregnancy in a good way,” Kinew said. “This is a long-term fight that people have had to try to bring those services home.”

Kinew said this restored the service to the region for the first time since funding was cut 25 years ago.

“For far too long families in this region have not had access to midwifery care,” Asagwara said. “This is about the return of birthing stories, birthing communities, that start and end in community.”

The province said the first office is open at the Interlake-Eastern Health Services building, which is located in the same complex as Selkirk’s health centre.

Monday’s announcement was part of the province’s previous budget announcement of $1.1 million for midwifery services across Manitoba.

“What it’s really about is during one of those most special times in our lives, when we are welcoming new additions to our families, that you can do that closer to home,” Kinew said.

Agwara said a total of 11 new midwife positions were created since April 2024. This included the two Norway House Cree Nation midwife positions announced in late October.