The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives is warning that a Campbell River woman who is presenting herself as a birth attendant is not a registered member of the college.
The college posted a public advisory this week saying it has received reports that Annick Meckes of Campbell River may be offering midwifery services and performing restricted activities without being permitted to do so.
“Annick Meckes has never been and is not a registrant of BCCNM and is not entitled to practise as a midwife in British Columbia,” says the warning.
Similar advisories were posted this week for Jacqueline Soule of Fort St. John and Janice Lim Hing and Madison Desjarlais of the Greater Vancouver area.
In B.C., the title “midwife” can only be used by those who have an approved four-year undergraduate degree and have passed a national exam, and are registered with the college.
The advisories come a month after the college issued a warning about the risks of using an unauthorized midwife for prenatal care, labour, delivery and home births, including death for mother or baby.
“These individuals do not have the same training, experience and access to life-saving medications and equipment as midwives, nor integration with hospitals for emergency care if needed, resulting in significant risks to the health and safety of birthing persons and their babies,” says the college’s website.
Unauthorized midwives sometimes use variations of the title including “birth attendant,” “birth keeper” and “traditional midwife.”
In October, the college issued a public advisory about Karma Dawn of Victoria, who was offering “traditional midwifery” services. The INNATE Postpartum Care Practitioners Directory lists Dawn as “a traditional birth attendant and a guide for women to reclaim and cultivate their personal power.”
The Oct. 16 advisory warned Dawn “has never been and is not a registrant of BCCNM and is not entitled to practise as a midwife in British Columbia.”
The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives offers an online midwife verification tool for verifying the registration status of any individual promoting themselves as a midwife (registry.midwives.bccnm.ca).
The college says it does not have the authority to stop individuals who are not registrants of the college but continue to advertise themselves as midwives. That power, it says, rests with the court system, which can issue an injunction.
