The principles outlined below are fundamentals of midwifery practice which, when taken together, ensure that midwifery meets the needs of the individuals who choose this service. These principles are applicable to midwifery practice across all settings and are to be used as a basis for the planning and integration of midwifery services in Saskatchewan.
Midwives are Autonomous Health Care Providers
Midwives are regulated, licensed primary health care providers who offer comprehensive, evidence-based sexual, reproductive, maternal, and infant health care as autonomous practitioners. Midwives may be a client’s first point of entry into the maternity care system, serving as their primary health care provider. As primary health care providers, midwives make autonomous decisions in collaboration with their clients and are fully responsible for the provision of primary health services within their scope of practice. They coordinate services to ensure continuity of care, identify conditions requiring management outside their scope of practice and refer such cases to other providers.
Community-Based Care
Midwives strive to ensure equitable access to midwifery care for all, regardless of place of residence or circumstance. Midwifery practices consider the demographics of the practice area so that services are offered in a manner that supports access for those who may benefit from midwifery care but may not seek it out. Midwives, and the community which supports their practice, should be knowledgeable about the population within their practice area.
Informed Choice
Responsiveness to clients’ needs is a guiding principle of midwifery practice. Midwives respect the right of their clients to make informed choices and actively encourage informed client decision-making. Midwives facilitate decision-making by making relevant, objective and evidence-based information available to their clients. Informed choice is a decision-making process, which relies on a full exchange of information in a non-urgent, non-authoritarian, cooperative manner. Having adequate time for discussion starting in the prenatal period is necessary to the successful facilitation of informed choice.
Read the College’s policy on “Informed Choice” here.
Continuity of Care
Continuity of care is fundamental to the midwifery model of practice. It is both a philosophy and a process that enables the midwife to provide client-centred care and to establish an ongoing partnership with the client in order to build understanding, support and trust. Continuity of care is delivered through the provision of midwifery care during pregnancy, labour, birth and the postpartum period, on a 24-hour on-call basis by a midwife or small group of care providers known to the client.
Read the College’s policy on “Continuity of Care” here.
Choice of Birth Setting
Midwives respect the right of clients to make informed choices about the setting for birth. Midwives provide care in a variety of settings, including hospitals, homes and birth centres, where available. Midwives provide their clients with the information and support required to make an informed choice about the appropriate settings in which to give birth in accordance with the legislation, policies and guidelines of the Saskatchewan College of Midwives.
Read the College’s policy on “Planned Out of Hospital Birth” here.
Read the College’s policy on “Client Request for Care Outside of Standards” here.
Two Attendants at Each Birth
The Canadian standard of care requires two attendants at every birth, each skilled in managing neonatal and maternal emergencies. The second birth attendant must understand and support the midwifery model of care and may be another midwife or a health care practitioner with the necessary knowledge and skills to assist the midwife.
Read the College’s “Midwifery Standards of Practice” – Standard 11 here.
Collaborative Care
Midwives collaborate with other professionals to ensure their clients receive the best possible care when the needs of the client exceed the scope of practice of the midwife. Collaborative care involves the cooperation of various professionals in the provision of care. In situations where transfer of care to a physician is required, the midwife may continue providing supportive care after transfer and resume primary care if appropriate. Collaboration with other health care providers occurs with informed client choice. Read the College’s policy on “Interprofessional and Collaborative Care” here and the College’s policy on “Supportive Care” here.
Accountability and Evaluation of Practice
Midwives are accountable to their clients, their peers and the wider community for safe, competent, ethical practice. They are also accountable to their own regulatory body, their employers, the health care institutions in which they practice and to the public. Midwives continuously evaluate their practice to improve the quality of care they provide and to ensure their clients’ needs are met. The results of this evaluation are incorporated into midwifery practice.
Midwives as Educators
In keeping with the history and tradition of midwifery, midwives have a professional responsibility to support the education of midwifery students by providing training, mentorship, and opportunities for practical and clinical experience, and to serve as knowledge translators of obstetrical and midwifery-specific research.
Adapted from:
College of Midwives of Manitoba: Model of Practice;
College of Midwives of BC: Model of Midwifery Practice
Approved by SCM Transitional Council – June 2026