The Benefits of Having Medical Professionals Who Speak Your Language

April 7, 2021

In healthcare, language is extremely important. Giving birth is an exciting, transitional time in your life, and you should be able to happily experience it and understand it.

The benefit of having a midwife instead of a traditional doctor care for you is that one of the core values of midwifery is informed choice. Motherhood is different for every woman, and every woman should be able to make informed choices about the health of herself and her child.

If Farsi is your first and most fluent language, having a Farsi speaking midwife will make your pregnancy and birth journey less stressful. In 2018, recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) stressed that the quality of interactions between women and their health care providers plays a large role in positive outcomes while giving birth.

By having a midwife Farsi speaking, with whom you can have detailed conversations, is very important for Farsi speaking women living in Vancouver.  Having a sense of community and security are two vital factors in raising children. Knowing a care provider who is part of the same cultural background as you is an important part of feeling safe and secure during birth.

With a midwife who is Farsi-speaking, any concerns, questions, or problems that the patient has can be properly addressed, resulting in a better overall quality of care. Midwives are healthy pregnancy and birth experts. In British Columbia, registered midwives offer primary care to healthy pregnant clients and their unborn babies from early pregnancy, through labour and birth, until around six weeks after delivery.

The midwifery practice is evidence-based and client-centered, making midwives an important and established part of British Columbia’s health care system, as well as health care systems around the world.

Midwives are not simply there to help you through labour and check your blood pressure during pregnancy. Midwives educate, guide, and care for their patients, while listening and observing.

Midwives are registered and regulated in British Columbia by the College of Midwives of British Columbia (CMBC). Any information regarding finding a registered midwife in British Columbia is available in several languages, including Farsi, making midwives an accessible health care option.

The midwives association of British Columbia’s website has resources specifically for newcomers to Canada and refugees. These resources include information on how to navigate the Canadian healthcare system, resources for immigrant woman and children, and more.

All midwives in British Columbia are searchable by community and language. If you are new to Canada, the benefits of having a midwife speaking Farsi can go beyond pregnancy care.

Midwives around the world are guided by the international definition of what a midwife is. “The midwife has an important task in health counselling and education, not only for the woman but also within the family and the community. The work should involve antenatal education and preparation for parenthood and may extend to women’s health, sexual or reproductive health, and childcare.”

Midwives provide care without discrimination. This can be especially important for women and their families who are new to Canada. Midwives in Canada follow a model of practice that goes beyond birthing support and needs. Midwives can help make community connections, and will have knowledge and access to resources and programs that could be beneficial to new immigrants.

While regulations will differ from country to country, midwives around the world are all guided by their commitment to education and care.