The British Columbia College of Nurses & Midwives (BCCNM) says a Vancouver Island woman is one of several people in the province who may be offering midwifery services but aren’t allowed to do so.
The BCCNM issued four public advisories Monday, including one that says Annick Meckes of Campbell River “has held herself out as a birth attendant” in B.C. and may be offering midwifery services “without being permitted to do so.”
The college says it received reports about Meckes, who is alleged to be “performing restricted activities as set out in the Midwives Regulation.”
It also received reports about Madison Desjarlais and Janice Lim of Greater Vancouver and Jacqueline Soule of Fort St. John, and says the trio, along with Meckes, have “never been and is not a registrant of BCCNM and is not entitled to practise as a midwife in British Columbia.”
In B.C., only midwives who are registered with BCCNM can call themselves “midwives” or “registered midwives,” according to the college.
It released a province-wide public advisory on Nov. 6 warning of unauthorized practice of midwifery.
The BCCNM says a midwife is a licensed professional who provides primary care to clients and babies during pregnancy, labour, birth and postpartum. In B.C., a four-year university degree is required to become a midwife.
“After graduating, and before being granted practising registration with the BCCNM, a national exam must be completed,” the college says on its website.
So, it’s encouraging the public to verify the registration status of any person who “holds themselves out as a midwife” via midwife verification or by directing an inquiry to the BCCNM’s registration department.
“Nurse and midwife registration verification ensures that only those qualified with the requisite skills and education to be nurses and midwives are employed or practicing in nursing and midwifery positions in British Columbia,” it added.
In October, the BCCNM warned that Karma Dawn, also of Vancouver Island, may be performing “restricted activities as set out in the Midwives Regulation without being permitted to do so.”
Speaking with CHEK News, Dawn called it a “modern-day witch hunt,” adding, “Licensure has done nothing but pit women against each other for the ‘approval’ of a ‘higher authority’ that knows nothing of female physiology or the innate process of birth.”
READ MORE: Vancouver Island woman not licenced midwife, BCCNM warns
Ethan Morneau
