Stillbirth in Canada: A Call to Action
womens health
Menstruation is having its moment – Let’s turn it into a movement
Interactive map helps women find the timely care they need
Pulling back the curtain on Canada’s rising C-section rate
Caesarian sections (C-sections) are among the most common surgical procedures performed on women of child-bearing age. Canada’s C-section rate has increased dramatically in the past two decades. The national C-section rate has increased from 17% of all births in 1995 to nearly 27% in 2010. In Ontario, nearly 29% of births in 2011/12 were by C-section, with a similar rate in Alberta of …
Non-invasive prenatal testing and chromosomal microarray: changing the landscape of prenatal genetic testing
Prenatal testing is a routine part of pregnancy care in much of the world. Every pregnant woman in Canada is offered blood tests and ultrasounds to evaluate the health of her pregnancy. When testing suggests potential genetic abnormalities, doctors offer a further test such as amniocentesis to make a definitive diagnosis. While amniocentesis is very …
Maternity services disappearing in rural Canada
The plan to eliminate obstetrical care at Banff’s Mountain Springs Hospital, and to replace it with enhanced vascular and plastic surgery services, was labelled a potential “quick win” in a 2012 community and rural health planning document. Babies would no longer be delivered in Banff (population about 8,200) and instead obstetrical care would be “consolidated” …
What’s wrong with the pink ribbon?
October is “Breast Cancer Awareness” month. Just when you thought there could not be any more pink ribbons in the world, there are. I have never liked the cutesy, little girl symbolism of a pink ribbon to represent breast cancer. I refuse to buy any product sporting a pink ribbon and I do not support …
Immigrant women access health care differently
In recent weeks, I have read several reports on the health of immigrants in Canada. All these reports are unanimous in their conclusion that immigrants are healthier than Canadians when they arrive in Canada. However, over a 10 year period, their health deteriorates, with increasing rates of heart disease, hypertension, blood pressure, autism, diabetes and …
Women’s health – how far have we really come?
March 8th, 2012 marked the 101st annual celebration of International Women’s Day. Originally conceived in Europe in 1911 to draw attention to the struggle for women’s equal participation in society, IWD has become both a day of celebration and an opportunity to highlight the progress still needed to achieve women’s equality. Certainly, great gains have …
Why isn’t there a system of integrated maternity care in Ontario?
Midwives provide high quality care for normal, low risk pregnancy and child birth, but provide this care to relatively few women in Ontario. The demand for midwifery services is outstripping capacity. The philosophy and actual practice of care provided by midwives and obstetricians is different. Obstetricians deliver many more babies, but obstetrician-led care is more …