The provincial government announced additional funding for B.C.’s only midwifery program at UBC
The only university in B.C. training midwives will get more funding to nearly double its training spots.
The University of British Columbia will add 20 more training spots, for a total of 48, the province announced Friday (Feb. 17).
Twelve of the additional spots will open in UBC’s bachelor of midwifery program, which will now accept 32 students per year. Eight new seats will open up in the Internationally Educated Midwives Bridging Program, which will now train 16 students per year.
Post-Secondary Education Minister Selina Robinson joined Health Minister Adrian Dix and parliamentary secretary for rural health Jennifer Rice in making the announcement on UBC’s Vancouver Campus.
The province will put $1.7 million toward establishing the new spots, then continue to fund them with another $1.7 million per year starting this year.
Robinson said this funding will significantly increase midwife training and allow more students to pursue careers in the field, adding that the funding is part of the government’s promise to expand access to secondary education.
UBC’s midwifery program celebrated its 20th anniversary in late 2022.
Dix, who called UBC’s midwifery program an essential service as the only one of its kind in B.C., said the additional funding is part of the government’s plan to attract more people into the health-care workforce.
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Rice said midwives are critical to meeting the needs of growing families in rural, remote and First Nations communities. The additional seats will ensure equitable access to maternity care across rural and remote regions of the province, she added.
