Unlicensed B.C. midwife says professional college on 'modern-day witch hunt' against her

A file photo of pregnant person's bare stomach (Pixabay).

The subject of a "public advisory" from the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives says the college is engaged in a "modern-day witch hunt" against her.

Karma Dawn describes herself online as a "traditional midwife."

The BCCNM issued the advisory about her Monday, saying it had received a report that Dawn "has held herself out as a midwife in British Columbia and may be offering midwifery services without being permitted to do so." 

"This person has never been and is not a registrant of BCCNM and is not entitled to practice as a midwife in British Columbia," the advisory reads.

The title "midwife" is one of many protected in B.C. by the Health Professions Act. Legally, people cannot practice midwifery or call themselves midwives in the province without registering with the college, which requires completing an approved four-year undergraduate degree. 

Asked by CTV News if she had a response to the college's allegations against her, Dawn accused the college and the midwives it licenses within the medical system of "gaslighting," "torturing" and "traumatizing" women.

"Licensure has done nothing but pit women against each other for the 'approval' of a 'higher authority' that knows nothing of female physiology or the innate process of birth," Dawn wrote in an email to CTV News, adding that, in her view, childbirth is “NOT a medical event.”

The B.C. government describes the role of trained, registered midwives as providing “primary health care to healthy pregnant women and their newborn babies,” from the period of early pregnancy up to six weeks postpartum. Midwives collaborate with other health professionals and transfer care to doctors when necessary, such as if a pregnant person’s risk status changes.

The BCCNM told CTV News it can take a number of steps to enforce its jurisdiction under the Health Professions Act, including publishing notices like the one it issued about Dawn.

Other enforcement options include "demanding the individual stop using a protected title, usually in the form of a cease and desist letter," contacting police, and "seeking an injunction in court to prohibit an individual from using a title they are not entitled to use," the college said.

The BCCNM said it could not comment on any steps it had taken in Dawn's case, other than issuing the public notice.

For her part, Dawn began her email to CTV News by saying she was "not aware" that the college "was performing a modern-day witch hunt" against her.

The BCCNM encourages the public to verify the registration status of anyone who presents themselves as a nurse or a midwife. Registration status can be checked on the college's website. 

Dawn is the second person the college has issued a public warning about in as many weeks. Last week, it warned a woman named Charrybelle Talaue had posed as a registered nurse in an effort to get work in a B.C. hospital.