On April 25, 2024, the BCCNM Board voted to rescind the
Policy on Midwifery Data Submission. Effective immediately, practising midwives are no longer required to track attended births in the
Birth Roster online platform.
Changes in the health system that make the submission of birth roster data redundant and unnecessarily onerous for midwives:
- Perinatal Services BC no longer requires birth roster data to reconcile birth data.
- Health authorities have their own data collection policies and procedures for home births.
- BCCNM only requires quantitative data on births under specific circumstances, and information can be obtained directly from midwives as required.
Deactivation of Birth Roster online platform
The Birth Roster online platform will remain available until July 31, 2024. As of August 1, 2024, the Birth Roster will be taken offline and information from the site will no longer be available. Data will be deleted permanently according to BCCNM's records management requirements.
Maintaining attended birth records going forward
While the monthly birth roster requirement has been removed, BCCNM recommends that all midwives maintain records of attended births, as this information may be requested by BCCNM for registration or Quality Assurance purposes. Information includes date of delivery and births attended as:
1. Principal midwife:
- In an out-of-hospital setting with no transfer of location/care
- Where transfer from out-of-hospital setting to hospital occurred and you continued to provide supportive care
- In hospital with no transfer of care
- In hospital where care was transferred and you continued to provide supportive care
2. Second midwife in an out-of-hospital setting
3. Continuity of care.
Health authority requirements for reporting births remain in place. Please contact the relevant health authority for more information.
Questions and answers
- I’m a midwife and need the data that I’ve entered into the Birth Roster. Can I extract it?
- Yes. Data you have entered will be available until July 31, 2024. You can extract data by logging into the Birth Roster and clicking “generate report”.
- Will the peer case review log and specialized practice certification logs also be deleted?
- No. Practising midwives are still required to enter data into the peer case review log and specialized practice certification logs.
- What if I need to access the data after August 1, 2024?
- All data entered into the Birth Roster will be permanently deleted on August 1, 2024, and will not be able to be retrieved. If you need access to information you have entered into the Birth Roster, please ensure you extract it by July 31, 2024.
- What type of birth data may BCCNM request in the future?
- BCCNM may request information related to currency and competency requirements of the Quality Assurance Program or as related to registration, such as the specific number or type of births or courses of care you provided during a specific date range. If this information is required, BCCNM will contact you directly.
BCCNM encourages all midwives to maintain accurate details as set out in the ‘Maintaining attended birth records’ in the section above. - What is the definition of continuity of care?
- Continuity of care is defined as the provision of midwifery services during the antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum periods, by a registrant known to the client, and includes 24-hour on-call availability of care from a midwife known to the client.