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I recently spoke with Health Minister Mike de Jong and Opposition critic for the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Claire Trevena (listen to podcast of the interview above) about the cuts to home visits new moms receive from public health nurses and I’m still very unsettled by the whole thing.
It has been fairly common practice in many areas of BC for moms who have just given birth to receive a call & visit from a public health nurse. Many moms get help with breastfeeding, discuss the baby blues and the possibility of post partum depression. The nurses provide public health information and essential community resources. They can take a look at mom and baby and notice if mom has a post operative infection brewing that the mom has been concerned about but perhaps too exhausted to get checked out. Or in some cases, the nurse may notice that baby has jaundice, tongue tie or look into a parent’s concern about baby not gaining weight. Public health nurses provide an important preventative service to many new moms.
Recently, the BC government said they would be cutting back this $23 million service and launching a Healthy Start program geared to moms deemed to be “at risk” who are under 25. With this program they will receive increased services to hopefully help those who qualify to get off to an easier start with their growing family. The problem is that postpartum depression and other issues that could come along with having a newborn are not restricted to any socioeconomic group. Some would argue that the first two weeks after having a baby puts many mothers of any age bracket at increased risk of issues.
In his statement at the Legislature, de Jong said, “There are mothers who have an extensive support network. They have relatives. They have midwives. They have family physicians who are there for them on a regular basis. But there are others who do not, and we are not going to apologize.”
Actually, some might argue that mothers over 25 years of age have an increased chance of losing important support networks like our own mothers, the older we get. I myself lost my mother when I was 25. Midwives, who provide home visits, deliver less than 15% of births in British Columbia with only 10 Registered Midwives graduating from UBC every year. Many families are in need of a family doctor and rely on clinics when there are problems.
Minister de Jong says that women will still get a phone call from public health. And yes, there are some services outside in the community for new parents. That’s going to be fine for some moms. But for many others, who are quite often resting & sore from birth or recovering from c-section, this will be an important support lost. Not very many mothers I know feel comfortable disclosing their concerns over the phone to a nurse they have never met. This could possibly result in some empathetic doctors keeping women in the hospital longer (a big financial cost to the system), risk factors not being spotted by nurses, increased isolation to new moms, and increased use of the ER & clinics.
What’s really upsetting is that the government is aiming to cut from health budgets and it looks like they are making this cut right at the beginning of a citizen’s life, during a very significant and often fragile transition for British Columbian families. It’s difficult not to feel skeptical when you see that the government is handing out $30 million payouts to mining companies or spending half a billion dollars to put a roof on BC Place Stadium.
For many, pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and new motherhood can happen very smoothly and can be an incredibly empowering experience. For others, any one of those elements can be difficult, in a variety of ways. If we are truly aiming to be “Family First” in this province, let’s support all families from the very beginning.
If you are concerned, let those who are making these decisions know. You can contact Health Minister Mike deJong, Premier Christy Clark or ask your local MLA (who should be representing you) to speak up on this situation. The BC’s Nurses union also has a petition.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
The community nurse home visit program was an essential part of my families post-caesarean recovery.. Move likes this make it awfully hard to swallow the “family first” rhetoric of the BC Liberals.
A serious error was made by the student nurse when removing my staples in the hospital, post cesarean delivery. After two weeks, I began to have fevers and didn’t know that a massive infection had begun in the incision area. It was during a home visit that the nurse discovered that the student nurse had missed two staples and my body was trying to reject them. There are so many stories like this, and almost everyone who has had the home visit post delivery values this for the safety of themselves and their children. Shame on the BC Liberals!
This is such a terrible decision. I’m a married woman in my 30′s with a wonderful husband and a very supportive family but I still needed the assistance of the public health nurse when my second daughter was born last year. None of the wonderfully supportive people in my life were able to help me when I struggled with breast feeding.
I am so saddened by this news. My son wasn’t gaining weight his first two weeks home from the hospital, I was depressed, and I had no idea how to breast feed my baby properly. Having home support was so important, especially since I didn’t have any family near by.
I think De Jong is clueless as to what public health nurses do. To suggest women go to their family GP (and sit in a waiting room for over an hour) for a 10 minute appointment to cover everything re: PPD is not only financially irresponsible (Dr.’s can bill almost $50/10 minute appt) but ridiculous! I’ve had the same GP for almost 20 yrs and the thought of sitting with sick people for an hour while I wait for my appointment is a big deterent. I’ve been a public health nurse for almost 6 years and anytime I come across a woman who is suffering from PPD I spend a good hour with her for a lot less money than any doctor would charge. Shame on you Mr. De Jong to use our tax dollars irresponsibly and shame on you to trivialize a postpartum woman’s challenges. Walk in my shoes for one day and you will realize it is not as easy as you are suggesting.