A woman shows students how to feel for the position of a baby as she teaches a class in midwifery at The Farm in Summertown, Tenn., Tuesday, June 26, 2007.AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
A review of midwifery in Nova Scotia says there's a loss of public confidence in the provincial government's commitment to the program.
The external report, released today by the Department of Health, was commissioned earlier this year by the government after concerns surfaced about a shortage of midwives in the province.
The review also found there was tension among health staff as a result of introducing midwives into the health care system in 2009.
It says the roles of midwives as providers of primary maternity care are not well understood.
It contains several recommendations, including one that calls for a plan that would see 20 full-time midwives working in the province in 2017.
Two midwives are based in Antigonish, N.S., two more in Bridgewater, N.S., but since December there have been no midwifery services in Halifax.
In a statement, Nova Scotia Health Minister Maureen MacDonald says she is committed to midwifery and her department will review the report's recommendations.